Break the Chain
by Niko Kurosaka
Summary: While Sapphire went back to the Insurgents, Niko decided to open up a music shop in a haunted house. However, a great threat is about to come to Möbius again in the form of the Fangire, demons that feed off life energy. Niko will have to use a new trick he learned from a bat named Kivat the 3rd. Using the power of the Kivat Driver, Niko will assume the role of Kamen Rider Kiva!
1. Break the Chain

For a fox, Niko wasn't very cunning. He was smart, but he was not tactical. He knew this but still was willing and able to help out when he could. While Sapphire rejoined the Insurgents, Niko found work elsewhere. Specifically with music. He discovered a hidden knack for repairing and making instruments. So, with a little financial boost from the Insurgents, he started his business in a haunted house for reasons that he wouldn't tell you.

Inside the house, he befriended a metallic bat named Kivat the 3rd. The two became friends immediately. One day a knock at the door came and Niko jumped out the bath forgetting something; a towel. Checking the peephole, he saw it was Sapphire. Opening the door, he and Kivat bowed.

"Hi, Sapphire!" Niko said bowing clumsily.

"Welcome to our humble music shop!" Kivat continued. He looked to Niko and noticed he was void of a towel. "Niko. You're naked without a towel!"

Niko jumped and covered himself with a violin.

"Sorry!" Niko shouted, bowing apologetically. "I was just taking a bath. So what brings you by honey?"

Sapphire didn't usually get breaks in her work day, usually because she refused them, but sometimes Garnet forced them upon her when she was working especially hard. He was the Director of the Insurgents after all, and she wasn't really allowed to refuse direct orders. When she did take breaks, she usually used them to visit her husband, Niko.

She stood on the other side of the door dressed in a black suit (she had been on a business call), her hands folded her in front of her and her hair pulled back. She smiled when Niko and Kivat bowed, and she shook her head slightly when Niko hurried to cover himself with a violin.

"Just thought I'd stop by to see how things are going," she told him. "Things going well?"

"Things are great." Niko replied. "Kivat and I have been fixing instruments and making them. It's been a good way to use my time. So how is everything with the Insurgents?"

Sapphire was glad Niko was finding something to do with his time. She had known that one of his biggest concerns with her going back to the Insurgents had been having nothing to do while he was alone. She was simply happy he had found something.

"Everything is going better than I could have hoped," she told him with a wide smile. She was enjoying work more than she had expected to. Everything was just so comfortable and familiar.

She peered passed Kivat and Niko, gazing into the store beyond, eyeing the instruments. "It definitely seems like you guys have a good business going."

"Yep!" Niko said beaming with joy. "I'm glad you think so."

Just then, one of the violins starts playing a note. Kivat looked to Niko and Sapphire.

"Time to show you something." Kivat said. "Come with me. A Fangire just appeared."

Kivat flew off to the city and Niko followed. He knew this was serious but he didn't know what to think of it. Sapphire was... Confused to say the least. She didn't know much about Kivat, and she knew nothing of the thing he spoke of. She slowly started to follow Niko, though she walked in a manner that showed she did not intend on sticking around.

"I should really be getting back to work..." she called up ahead to Niko, who was now many paces ahead of her.

Niko waved back to Sapphire and noticed the Fangire was running towards her. Kivat quickly bit Niko's hand and mosaic tattoos appeared on Niko's body. Rushing towards the Fangire, he vaulted over her and yelled out.

"Henshin!" Niko shouted as he was surrounded by a silvery film. When the film dissipated, Niko was covered in red and gold vampiric armor with Kivat hanging upside-down on the belt. He had blocked the Fangire's attack with his forearm.

"Sapphire," Kivat said. "Head back to the Insurgents headquarters as you intended, we'll deal with this!"

Everything happened fast. One minute Niko was in front of her, the next he was behind her, the next it seemed as if he'd transformed, and the last she was being told to leave. Her eyes lingered on this armored Niko for a moment longer before her hand found a circular disc on her waist. She presses a button on the center, and just like that, she was gone.

When she reappeared, Sapphire stood in the middle of a dark-lighted hallway, people rushing back and forth past her. She grabbed the the shoulder of one person and spun him around.

"What's happening, corporal?" she asked, quickly noting his insignia, and the man gestured for her to follow him. They both took off at a quick pace.

"We've received an alarming signal from the city," he started, quickly moving out of the hallway and into a room filled with computers and all kinds of high tech equipment. One large screen took up an entire wall, and on it was the scene she had left only moments ago. "The creature is unknown, but instead of following standard protocol, the Director requested immediate termination after finding it was coming for you." At the computers, people talked urgently into headsets and tapped away at keys. The soldier hurried to an empty terminal, taking his place amongst the others.

Sapphire scowled. Her husband was in there, and Garnet was about to overreact and practically overkill this thing that Kivat called Fangire. She hurried to the closest terminal and, as calmly as she could, requested her spot. The woman moved quickly (Sapphire was very highly ranked), and she sat down. The woman passes her the headset she had been wearing as Sapphire held her hand out. She tapped a few buttons on the headset and typed a few things on the keyboard before speaking.

"This is Agent Sapphire. No soldiers are to leave the base and approach this creature. I repeat, no soldiers are to leave the base and approach this creature. There is a civilian in the proximity that could be harmed. The number of drones sent to the location are to be limited to four, and they will not fire unless the civilian leaves the scene."

"Agent, you're asking us to ignore orders given to us by-"

"You all know this attack is absolutely overkill," Sapphire cut off. "This is an order. I will deal with any and all consequences." There was silence for a moment, but a moment later, orders and actions were changing.

Meanwhile, Niko kicked the Fangire and looked at it and pulled out a red key-like cartridge and puts it on the belt. The sky turns dark and red clouds fill the sky. Jumping into the air, Niko's leg opened to reveal a winged boot. Niko came crashing down boot first into the Fangire destroying it. The remains of it, a glowing orb floated into the air and disappeared. Niko reverted back to normal and sighed.

"Well that was odd," Niko said. "Kivat, you mind explaining to me why this is happening?"

"Once we're out of the open back home yeah." Kivat replied.


	2. The Fangs

Everyone watched on the large monitor as the Fangire was destroyed. Sapphire let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. That thing didn't seem too hard to kill, but maybe that was due to whatever the hell it was Niko was wearing. She sighed and stood, "See? It would've been overkill." She took the headset off and rested it on the keyboard as things began to calm down. The four drones that were sent out were called back in, and disgruntled looks crossed the faces of many whose work was interrupted for something that ended up being so minor.

"Agent Sapphire, report to my office immediately," Garnet's voice boomed overhead on the intercom. Her nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed. Many people gave her apologetic looks as she made her way out of the room.

Upon getting home, Kivat flew and sat on his perch and sighed. He knew that he was going to have to explain what was happening.

"Centuries ago, a race of supernatural beings were born." Kivat began. "The Fangire are vampires that prey on people's desires and drain their life force. Only those who were trained proper could stop them. The Insurgents don't know it, but they gave the means to stop them. It's likely they do, but who knows? I sure don't. Anyhow, the only other way to stop them is by using their magic against them. That's why me and my father and his father were made. To create a hero out of those who have strong hearts and will. To Mahe them into Kamen Rider Kiva. The Insurgents have the driver for Kamen Rider Ixa. Not sure when they'll find it, though. You'll need training. My suggestion is to go find some of the Freedom Fighters and ask for training. It'll help you a little...be ready though, when someone is bitten by a Fangire, defeating it won't being them back."

As Sapphire made her way out of the room, she had no intention of going to Garnet's office. Rather, she made her way to the mini transportation terminal and put in the coordinates for the house of Niko and Kivat. She needed to get back there and make sure Niko was okay. She vanished, leaving behind only blue crystals that vanished soon after she did.

When she reappeared, she was a lot closer to Niko and Kivat than she had originally planned to be, and she stumbled back a little. The Insurgents had only recently developed this kind of transportation technology, and she used it often, which often caused for her to appear in the wrong place or appear in a way to catch Niko off guard. Her eyes quickly found her husband.

"Are you okay? Did that thing do anything to you?" she asked, eyes searching him for injury.

Niko and Kivat jumped and screamed, with Niko screaming the most like a female.

"You scared us!" Kivat shouted. "How did you do that?"

"Teleportation," a voice said. Niko turned to see it was Shadow and Rouge. Shadow was holding an electric guitar in his hands.

"I'm gonna guess the Insurgents developed it because it looks untested." Shadow added. "Anyhow, I have to repair Sonic's old guitar. I broke it on accident so I want to get it fixed for him."

"No problem Shadow-kun!" Kivat shouted. "In exchange, could you train Niko? As you're likely aware, monsters are on the loose and he needs to be ready."

Sapphire blinked at how Kivat and Niko screamed, confusion crossing into her eyes. Oh, she had scared them. Her eyes flicked to the voice afterwards, her eyes narrowing at his words. Her and Shadow had never really gotten along, and his words about the Insurgents, did not help. Of course the teleportation device had been tested! Just... Not very well. They were working on more complicated, important things to worry about smoothing out the wrinkles in the transportation device.

Sapphire's eyes moved from Shadow to Niko. "Wait, train? What're you training for? And monsters? What's happening?" Sapphire was completely oblivious to all of the information that had been shared moments ago.

Kivat sighed and relayed to Sapphire what he told Niko and looked to Shadow.

"In short," Kivat said. "Niko needs to be ready for what may come. Sorry for not telling you, Sapphire."

It was a lot of information to take in. Sapphire blinked, and she narrowed her eyes. She had many questions. Was the overkill she thought Garnet was implementing actually necessary to kill the Fangire? If so, how did he know? How could she get her hands on the driver he mentioned? And why was Niko the one chosen for this?

"I don't like this," she muttered, looking to Niko. "I don't want you to be the one trying to kill these things if they're that dangerous. I don't like you being in harm's way." Yes, she was not happy with this.

"He doesn't have a choice," Kivat said. "If he did, he would've said no."

"It's true," Niko confirmed. He took Sapphire's hand in his and smiled. It was that same goofy smile he gave when they were kids when he was bullied. The same smile he would give when he was scared, but was still willing to do what needed doing. "I have to do this...no matter what. I am not a fan of staying in the background and watching the world suffer while the Fangire are out there. I'll end this somehow."

"That reminds me!" Kivat said smiling. "You have the ability to use more powes from previous Riders. They'll be come to you in time, but for now we will make due with what we can do."

Sapphire frowned, though she knew she'd have to accept that Niko had to do this. She sighed and squeezed his hand, her eyes filling with worry. She looked over to Kivat.

"You said something about a driver at the Insurgents base, right? If I could get my hands on it, could I help?" She sure as hell wasnt going to let Niko do this thing alone, and if there was something that would more easily help her aid him, she would take it up.

"That is if you are eligible," Kivat said nonchalantly. "It won't pick just anyone."

Niko was already gone with Shadow, training. He left a note as to where he would be in the event they want to observe.

Sapphire scowled. If she was eligible. Why wouldn't she be? But she couldn't wait around and find out. She sighed and folded her arms. "Is there anything I can do to help him with this? To fight the Fangire?"


	3. Revenant

Everyone watched on the large monitor as the Fangire was destroyed. Sapphire let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. That thing didn't seem too hard to kill, but maybe that was due to whatever the hell it was Niko was wearing. She sighed and stood, "See? It would've been overkill." She took the headset off and rested it on the keyboard as things began to calm down. The four drones that were sent out were called back in, and disgruntled looks crossed the faces of many whose work was interrupted for something that ended up being so minor.

"Agent Sapphire, report to my office immediately," Garnet's voice boomed overhead on the intercom. Her nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed. Many people gave her apologetic looks as she made her way out of the room.

Upon getting home, Kivat flew and sat on his perch and sighed. He knew that he was going to have to explain what was happening.

"Centuries ago, a race of supernatural beings were born." Kivat began. "The Fangire are vampires that prey on people's desires and drain their life force. Only those who were trained proper could stop them. The Insurgents don't know it, but they gave the means to stop them. It's likely they do, but who knows? I sure don't. Anyhow, the only other way to stop them is by using their magic against them. That's why me and my father and his father were made. To create a hero out of those who have strong hearts and will. To Mahe them into Kamen Rider Kiva. The Insurgents have the driver for Kamen Rider Ixa. Not sure when they'll find it, though. You'll need training. My suggestion is to go find some of the Freedom Fighters and ask for training. It'll help you a little...be ready though, when someone is bitten by a Fangire, defeating it won't being them back."

As Sapphire made her way out of the room, she had no intention of going to Garnet's office. Rather, she made her way to the mini transportation terminal and put in the coordinates for the house of Niko and Kivat. She needed to get back there and make sure Niko was okay. She vanished, leaving behind only blue crystals that vanished soon after she did.

When she reappeared, she was a lot closer to Niko and Kivat than she had originally planned to be, and she stumbled back a little. The Insurgents had only recently developed this kind of transportation technology, and she used it often, which often caused for her to appear in the wrong place or appear in a way to catch Niko off guard. Her eyes quickly found her husband.

"Are you okay? Did that thing do anything to you?" she asked, eyes searching him for injury.

Niko and Kivat jumped and screamed, with Niko screaming the most like a female.

"You scared us!" Kivat shouted. "How did you do that?"

"Teleportation," a voice said. Niko turned to see it was Shadow and Rouge. Shadow was holding an electric guitar in his hands.

"I'm gonna guess the Insurgents developed it because it looks untested." Shadow added. "Anyhow, I have to repair Sonic's old guitar. I broke it on accident so I want to get it fixed for him."

"No problem Shadow-kun!" Kivat shouted. "In exchange, could you train Niko? As you're likely aware, monsters are on the loose and he needs to be ready."

Sapphire blinked at how Kivat and Niko screamed, confusion crossing into her eyes. Oh, she had scared them. Her eyes flicked to the voice afterwards, her eyes narrowing at his words. Her and Shadow had never really gotten along, and his words about the Insurgents, did not help. Of course the teleportation device had been tested! Just... Not very well. They were working on more complicated, important things to worry about smoothing out the wrinkles in the transportation device.

Sapphire's eyes moved from Shadow to Niko. "Wait, train? What're you training for? And monsters? What's happening?" Sapphire was completely oblivious to all of the information that had been shared moments ago.

Kivat sighed and relayed to Sapphire what he told Niko and looked to Shadow.

"In short," Kivat said. "Niko needs to be ready for what may come. Sorry for not telling you, Sapphire."

It was a lot of information to take in. Sapphire blinked, and she narrowed her eyes. She had many questions. Was the overkill she thought Garnet was implementing actually necessary to kill the Fangire? If so, how did he know? How could she get her hands on the driver he mentioned? And why was Niko the one chosen for this?

"I don't like this," she muttered, looking to Niko. "I don't want you to be the one trying to kill these things if they're that dangerous. I don't like you being in harm's way." Yes, she was not happy with this.

"He doesn't have a choice," Kivat said. "If he did, he would've said no."

"It's true," Niko confirmed. He took Sapphire's hand in his and smiled. It was that same goofy smile he gave when they were kids when he was bullied. The same smile he would give when he was scared, but was still willing to do what needed doing. "I have to do this...no matter what. I am not a fan of staying in the background and watching the world suffer while the Fangire are out there. I'll end this somehow."

"That reminds me!" Kivat said smiling. "You have the ability to use more powes from previous Riders. They'll be come to you in time, but for now we will make due with what we can do."

Sapphire frowned, though she knew she'd have to accept that Niko had to do this. She sighed and squeezed his hand, her eyes filling with worry. She looked over to Kivat.

"You said something about a driver at the Insurgents base, right? If I could get my hands on it, could I help?" She sure as hell wasn't going to let Niko do this thing alone, and if there was something that would more easily help her aid him, she would take it up.

"That is if you are eligible," Kivat said nonchalantly. "It won't pick just anyone."

Niko was already gone with Shadow, training. He left a note as to where he would be in the event they want to observe.

Sapphire scowled. If she was eligible. Why wouldn't she be? But she couldn't wait around and find out. She sighed and folded her arms. "Is there anything I can do to help him with this? To fight the Fangire?"

"He needs your moral support right now," Kivat said bluntly. "It's the best you can do for now."

Sapphire's scowl deepened. Moral support? She might as well not help at all. She wanted to be active in her support. She did not want to stand on the sidelines and watch her husband get thrust into danger. She felt annoyance and anger pump into her veins.

Screw this. She could help with the Insurgents. Garnet seemed to know the means to stop the Fangire, so she'd go back and help there. She turned around and left the house, her steps heavy.

Niko bumped into Sapphire.

"Sorry," Niko said bowing apologetically. "I didn't see you. You're upset...I can tell. I know or sucks being unable to help me. But I think I have an idea."

Niko pulled out a driver. It was the driver for Kamen Rider Ixa. Niko looked down sadly.

"I'm found it buried near the old Insurgents base," Niko said. "If you wanna trying help me, then learn to use this. I have faith that it will choose you. Check out the back of it."

On the back was Allison's signature. She must have used it before if it had her name on it.

Sapphire frowned as Niko bumped into her, but his quick apology made her heart soften, her previous anger even diminishing slightly. He just had that effect on her. She looked down at the driver, eyes widening in surprise. How? How did that get to the old Insurgent's base? After seeing the signature on the back, she knew: her father must have buried it there. She looked away, hand reaching up to feel the pendant of the necklace that rested underneath her shirt.

How could she ever take it and live up to whatever her mother had done with it? She had wanted it before because she wanted to help Niko, but if it had been her mother's before her, how could it ever choose her, a lesser version of Allison? A mere memory of her?

"What if it doesn't?" she asked quietly, looking back to Niko. "What if I waste my time trying to use it and it never chooses me? Who knows what'll be happening to you by then."

"It's better to find out," Niko said. "Then live not knowing. So just give it a shot."

Sapphire looked to the driver that rested in Niko's arms for a moment longer before she finally took it from him with careful hands. Her blue eyes looked up to Niko, some despair in her face.

"I'm sorry," she told him at first, her voice quiet. "I'm sorry I can't be like you. You're always so good hearted, kind, and strong, and you're always some chosen one or something. I'm sorry that I'm not that." She used to be so confident in her abilities, and she still was oftentimes, but she just felt like she absolutely paled in comparison to her husband. She was, of course, proud of all of the things he did, but she just felt lesser when standing by his side.

Niko hugs Sapphire and smiled. He could feel her sadness. She took pride in her work, but quite often he has been a focus. She puts her career on the line for him and she doesn't mind. He had to help do something. Luckily, the Ixa Driver could defeat the Fangire.

"Sapphire," Niko said smiling. "No more putting your job on the line for me. Your Ixa Driver can help me. The Insurgents don't like me, I get it, but the Fangire are a worse threat than I ever was. Help them see that."


	4. Fate and Destiny

As Niko embraced her, Sapphire wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly for a moment. She pulled back to see his smile, which always helped when she got this way. However, the sadness did not completely leave her eyes, and she could not keep her eyes on his as he talked to her.

"I'll see what I can do," she told him quietly, looking down at the driver once more. She had to fill the Insurgents in on this whole situation.

"We'll leave you to it!" Kivat said smiling. "If Niko trusts you, so do I!"

Sapphire smiled sadly at Niko. She hoped he was being truthful. She didn't know if she'd be able to stand it if something happened to him. But she knew he had to focus on training and that she had to learn how to use the driver. That, and she had the Insurgents to deal with.

She let go of Niko's hand before turning around and pressing the disc on her waist, her form vanishing in a mass of blue crystal-like structures. She reappeared in the Insurgent base, and she made her way for Garnet's office. He still had to chew her out, she was sure.

Niko and Shadow began training in earnest and it was quite a spectacle. The way the two exchanged blows was amazing. Niko quickly countered every blow until shadow began to fire his gun. Niko quickly dodges but gets hit by a bullet in his arm. Kivat nods and looks to Niko.

"We need him for this," Kivat said. "Use the green key."

"Okay." Niko said pulling out a green key out of the belt and places it on the buckle.

As soon as Sapphire knocked on the familiar door to Garnet's office, she heard his voice bark at her.

"I'm busy!" he growled, and Sapphire couldn't help but flinch. She wasn't used to hearing Garnet use that tone of voice, but ever since she had come back, it was becoming more and more common. She rolled her shoulders back and threw the driver over her shoulder.

"It's Sapphire," she replied, keeping her voice strong. She heard a loud sigh on the other side of the door before hearing him reply, "Come in."

Sapphire gently turned the door knob and pushed the door open. She found that the usually filled office was empty. It was a large room with monitors lining the back wall and consoles lining the right side wall. Garnet sat at a desk toward the back of the room, his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. Papers were messily scattered on the desk, which contrasted greatly from the usually organized desk. As soon as she stepped into the room, Garnet looked up at her, anger flashing in his eyes. He stood up as she closed the door behind her, and he folded his arms.

"What took you so long?" he asked behind gritted teeth. She wasn't sure she had ever seen him so angry. She knew he knew the answer to the question; every agent's moves were monitored outside of work. It was standard considering how many moles had been in the old Insurgents. He asked her, she knew, to see if she would tell the truth.

"I went to the sight of the spotting of that creature," she replied clearly. "I wanted to-"

"Were you given orders to?"

"... No, sir," Sapphire replied after a pause, her eyes not leaving his anger filled ones.

"I didn't think so. You will be reprimanded for that. Now that that's out of the way..." He paused and took a deep breath before slamming his hands down on his desk. "What the fuck were you thinking, Sapphire?!"

She opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a sound out, he continued. "I had given specific orders to send soldiers and drones out to counter an impending Fangire attack. If it hasn't been for your special snowflake of a husband, that thing could've caused massive damage! You may be our best agent, but you do NOT have the authority to revoke direct orders from the director. Is that understood?"

Sapphire was quiet for a moment. How did he know about the Fangire? She didn't think questioning him about it would be the wisest thing to do at the moment, however. "Yes, sir," she replied quietly.

Garnet sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He hated raising his voice at her, but he needed to get his point across. He moved out from behind the desk and approached her, resting his arms gently on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he told her quietly, looking down at the shorter female, who stayed quiet. "But you can't keep doing stuff like this. I know what I'm doing, and I need you to trust me." Sapphire looked up at him and stayed quiet, her blue eyes trying and failing to hide a soft emotion. Garnet sighed again and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, and she returned the gesture.

"I'm sorry," Sapphire murmured.

Garnet slowly withdrew from the hug. He buried his hands in the pockets of his pants. "Now that that's out of the way, I need to talk to you about that thing. The Fangire."

Sapphire finally spoke up. "Niko works with that bat thing, Kivat. It knew all about it. And I can't figure out how you knew about it."

Garnet gave her a warning look at the way he spoke to her. "The Director had some really old files on the things. Most of the files were actually..." He cleared his throat. "We're actually composed by Allison. We found them when we scanvenged the old base."

Sapphire narrowed her eyes. "Who's 'we'?"

"Alex, Silver, Gold, and the others in that crew."

"Why didn't I know about this?" she asked, anger making its way into her eyes.

"It was before you came back. And since it had to do with Allison, I kept them on my clearance only. But it definitely seems like you know enough about it now." He nodded at the driver on her shoulder. "Where'd you find it? It was only mentioned in the files."

Sapphire shook her head. She would've snapped if it weren't for the fact she was already on some thin ice with Garnet. "Niko found it," she replied coolly, trying to keep herself composed. "Speaking of Niko, I need to discuss something with you."

Garnet's nose twitched a little at the mention of her husband. "Alright. Take a seat," he told her, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of the desk as he made his way to his.

Niko's armor began to glow and emit green energy. When the light subsides, Niko's arnor had turned green and a gun was in his hands. Niko smiled and began to fire at Shadow, taking the black and Crimson hedgehog by surprise. The two then began to exchange gunshots.

Some time later, Niko and Shadow were sitting in the music shop. Niko was drinking a cold Pineapple soda while Shadow was drinking water. Niko relayed to Shadow what had happened to him and Sapphire during the Xehanort incident in as much detail as he could, leaving as little out as possible. After, Shadow smiled and took the guitar and studied it.

"Pretty good." Shadow said. "I've never heard of such a thing until now."

Shadow grabbed the guitar Niko was working on and strummed a few notes. The sound was grunge-like and strong; just like Sonic liked it. Niko smiled at Shadow and waved as he left.

"Be ready," Shadow said. "Your next teacher will teach you about the Legend keys. Rest up for now."

Niko nodded and closed the door and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

Sapphire sat down in the designated chair across from Garnet, her hands in her lap. "You saw that he has a driver of his own, and as of right now, he's learning how to properly use it."

"We know," Garnet replied coolly. Not only were the agents monitored, but so were there significant others and those close to them.

"I think it would be beneficial if we... If we perhaps worked with him," Sapphire started, taking note of how anger flashed in his eyes. "He has the greater means to stop the Fangire, and he has Kivat on his side. We have some files. And I don't even know if the driver will allow me to use it or not. What I'm trying to say is that maybe we should just offer our aid to him instead of following standard protocol in minimizing the threat."

Garnet was quiet for a moment. He stared at Sapphire as he thought over what she had said. She was right, he knew; they did not have the best means to stopping the Fangire. But to sit back and only offer their aid instead of getting out there? That Garnet could not do. Besides; not many Insurgents were very fond of Niko.

"Instead of recieving a typical reprimand for your actions, you will drop out of any upcoming assignments or missions and focus on figuring out how the driver works and how to utilize it. If it doesn't choose you after three days to a week of practice, we'll discuss your further actions. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Sapphire replied. She was a little bothered by this; he had avoided the main point she was trying to discuss. Not to mention there were a few upcoming assignments she had been looking forward to. But she was in no position to speak up about this.

"Good. As for your 'recommendation,' I'll keep it in the back of mind. You're dismissed." Sapphire stood from the chair and readjusted the driver on her shoulder. She was about to salute when Garnet made a motion with his hand for her to just leave. So that's what she did.

As Sapphire left, the Ixa Driver began to glow and emit a pulse of golden light. When it subsided, Sapphire was wearing a golden and white armor resembling a knight. The belt began to talk.

"Allison! You're back!" The belt said with excitement. "In case you forgot, I'm Gwenivere!"

Sapphire gasped as the light began to envelop her and the driver, and she grew even more shocked as she became covered in armor and the driver began to speak to her. She looked over her shoulder at the door to Garnet's office before really processing what it was that the driver, Gwenivere, had said to her. Allison. She felt her heart tighten in her chest. She was not Allison. That fact had been drilled into her head by her father. She would never be Allison. She wasn't good enough to be. She supposed she'd have to disappoint the driver, too.

She slowly made her way down an alcove. "I'm... I'm not Allison. I'm her daughter, Sapphire."

"Next of kin works for me!" Gwenivere said. "I'm at your disposal just like I was for your mother. So? Shall we begin the download process? It's simple really. I'm just link myself to your mind and all the abilities and powers of the Ixa system as well as the Riders of the past are all yours!"

Gwenivere's reply caught Sapphire off guard. She was so sure she was going to be disappointed knowing she wasn't Allison; after all, most people in her life had been. But the driver was satisfied.

Sapphire sucked into an alcove just in case someone headed to Garnet's office. The idea of this thing connecting to her mind made her a little nervous - it was a dark and damaged place, after all - but she was willing to do it if it meant she'd be able to help. "Yeah, let's begin it."

"No worries!" Gwenivere said smiling. "I'm not gonna go into your mind. I'm just gonna sync with your body."

Suddenly, Gwenivere began to merge with Sapphire, only with her body so not much of her mind is used. When the process ends, the Ixa Driver is one with Sapphire. A symbol of the Ixa Driver appears on Sapphire's the process began, Sapphire felt a strange feeling wash over her body. She suddenly felt as if she was not herself, as if she was shading her body with someone else, and she felt tingles all over her. Her eyes widened at the strangeness of the sensations, her eyes finding the mark on her hand as it appeared. She stumbled backwards as if she could step away from the strange feelings, but they only moved with her.

"What just happened to me?" she whispered, her voice almost afraid as she stared at her hands, feeling as if they weren't her own.

"I merged with you and made you my new master!" Gwenivere said happily. "You can use me at anytime. I'm also here to give you advice. If you ever need help or have any questions, let me know!"

It would suffice to say that Sapphire was freaked out. She supposed this was a good thing, getting the driver to work and all, though she didn't really have a hand in it. Garnet would be happy with her, anyways. She'd have to tell him ASAP. She would tell Niko at a later time, however. She didn't want to disrupt his training. She made a mental note to call him later. "That's what Rouge is for! Allison was a strange one, to be honest. Instead of the Knuckle I usually come with, she instead decided on cards! So let's meet Rouge and Niko in the forest outside of town."

Niko had been sitting in a tree with Rouge, playing chess. Niko was winning, as usual. Rouge wasn't a strategist, she was an opportunist, taking advantage of any weaknesses.

"So, how was your adventure with your wife?" Rouge asked. "Did anything exciting happen?"

Niko chuckled and retold the story of the Xehanort incident. When he finished, Rouge smiled, amazed how much detail he gave. She silently wished she could have been there to see it.

"So that's a no on me being an aunt?" Rouge asked.

"That's right, cheeky wings." Niko said. "Sapphire and I agreed that we want kids, but now isn't the right moment. It's better to try when there's nothing threatening the world. You understand don't you? So how are things with you and Shadow? I heard you guys are really serious now."

"Oh hush you." Rouge said embarrassingly. "We are doing great. I have to admit, I was kinda scared to date Shadow, but I warmed up to the idea."

"So, how exactly do I utilize you?" she asked after taking a few deep breaths to help get rid of the shock of it all. She felt a little crazy since she was essentially talking to herself now, but she was just going to have to roll with it.

With Gwenivere's words, Sapphire nodded. Forest outside of town. She knew the one. She teleported there after finding the disc on her waist. She'd fill Garnet in later. She was sure he'd understand that she had to find all of the elements to her driver.

When she got to the forest, she immediately heard voices talking some ways away. Making sure the armor she'd been wearing was now off by messing with the driver a little, she followed the sound of the voices until she found Rouge and Niko up in a tree. She put her hands on her hips as she looked up at the two.

"Aren't you supposed to be training?" Sapphire asked her husband with an arched brow and a bit of a smile. She moved her eyes over to Rouge as her smile grew. "Hey, Rouge," she told her. She had warmed up to the bat in recent time.

"Well hello there, Sapphire darling." Rouge said floating down.

Niko tried to jump down but instead went face first down the tree. When he turned to face the two girls, he spat out pieces of bark. He wasn't very graceful, but he made up for it with the ability to roll with it.

"We were waiting for you, Sapphire." Niko said. "I didn't want to start without you."

"Okay, now that you're both here," Rouge said. "It's time to talk about the cards Kivat and Gwenivere gave you both. They are known as the Legend Rider cards. They are the spirit of the Kamen Riders before you. No longer will you be referred to as Kiva and Ixa. You will be known as Kamen Rider Fate and Kamen Rider Destiny." Shadow and I will fill you in on each Kamen Rider you will have access to. Let's start with your first forms. Pull out the card that has this symbol."

Rouge holds up a sign that has the sigil of Kamen Rider Ghost. Niko immediately grabs his card. Gwenivere telepathically hands Sapphire hers. Rouge nodded and continued.

"Now," Rouge continued. "Move the card over the belt."

Niko quickly does so and a voice echoes from his belt.

"Legend Access! Ghost!" The voice echoed.

Sapphire eyed the card before lifting her eyes up to see Niko move his card to his belt. Cautiously, she did the same before hearing a voice echo from her own belt.

"Legend Access! Spector!" it said, catching her off guard despite the fact Niko's belt had shouted a similar phrase.

"Good." Rouge said smiling. "Now say "Henshin" push the button in the middle of the belt."

Niko nodded and looked at the belt for a brief moment. He didn't even know what he was doing, but he had to steel the courage to do this and do it he did! Slamming the button in the middle of the belt, he shouted out.

"Henshin!" Niko shouted. Suddenly, he was surrounded by black armor with an orange and black jacket. The helmet had a single horn on the forehead. The same voice from before shouted out once more.

"Kaigan: Ore!" The voice shouted. "Let's Go! Kakugo! Gho-Gho-Gho-Ghost! GO! GO! GO! GO!"

Niko looked at himself and was a bit frightened at first, but quickly grew used to it. This is so cool Niko thought as he waited for Sapphire.

Sapphire had absolutely no clue what was happening or what she was doing. She was just following instructions and doing what Niko was doing and hoping it worked. She followed suit in what her husband did, shouting the same phrase. A blue and black jacket enveloped her, covering her outfit and taking her further off guard.

"Kaigan: Specter! Ready, Go! Kakugo! Doki Doki Ghost!"

Sapphire looked down at herself as the voice echoed the phrase, knowing she must look formidable.

Niko looked at Sapphire and smiled. This was amazing, he thought. This was definitely going to even out the odds against their foes. Rouge looks to the pair and smiled.

"Good." Rouge said. "That's not all the forms you have. You have access to all of the Kamen Riders' abilities and suits. However, you're going to need to find the alternative forms of some of them. For example, the Kamen Riders Ghost and Specter both have alternate forms based of past historical figures you may have learned about in school. You'll need to use the Eyecons they are associated with. To use them, they're in the belt so just call out the historical figure and you'll gain the form based on it, if available."

"Cool!" Niko shouted. "Lemme try! Hmmm...I know! Uh...Billy the Kid!"

Just then, Niko gained brown and black armor and twin pistols. Niko looked at himself and smiled. He knew that this was gonna have some kind of tactical advantage.

"Well Sapphire?" Rouge asked. "Why don't you try? Try calling for Tutankhamen."

Sapphire watched as Niko continued to explore his new abilities. She was a little jealous of the pistols he had received, but she had to admit that he looked pretty badass. She felt her chest swell a little bit in pride at the fact that this guy, who was the 'chosen one' in just about every scenario, was her husband.

She was caught a little off guard as Rouge addressed her, having been caught up in admiring Niko. "Oh, right. Okay... Tutankhamun!" she called out, and as she did, her clothing became a gold and cyan color, and her helmet shifted to resemble the headpiece of a pharaoh. A weapon appeared in her hand and took Sapphire slightly off guard by just how menacing it looked. She turned it over to look at it; it appeared to be a sort of sickle... But it was also a gun?

"Okay, that's pretty cool," Sapphire spoke with humor in her voice as she continued to check out the weapon.

Rouge smiled at the pair and nodded. She knew that this was where things got dangerous as they would have to do things on their own. Clearing hr throat and giving her best stern look, she pointed to Vanilla who was standing with a makeup kit behind her.

"Alright so what we figured out," Rouge said. "You two will have to go back to school. The group causing the problems are at the local boarding school for children of the rich and powerful known as Pembrook Academy. What we don't know is where and how the problems are occurring. That's where you two will come in by being our eyes and ears inside. Be careful, however, you two will go in as a married couple, so as a result, you'll face a lot of prejudice. Niko's dad went to the academy and...well he was called a bastard child of a rich man and a whore. Needless to say, seeing Niko will bring back flashbacks for the teachers and staff. Try not to get into trouble.

"You got it!" Niko said. "But wait? Sapphire and I are a little too old to be going to boarding school."

"That's what Vanilla is here for!" Rouge said. Rouge had a weird laser in her hands. "This is called the Youth and Rejuvenation Ray. The YR Ray for short. Named after my favorite soap opera. Well anyways, this will make you look younger. It'll turn you both back to your sixteen year old selves but you'll still have the knowledge of your normal older selves."

"So I get to see Sapphire when she was 16?" Saph said excitedly. "YAY!"

"Excuse her," Sarabi said.

"Well, Sapphire?" Niko asked. "Are you ready to go back to school? I sure as hell ain't. Especially given what people said about my dad and the fact we'll be going in as a married teenage couple. However, I'm willing if you are."

As soon as school was mentioned, Sapphire couldn't help but groan. She hadn't particularly thrived when she was in school, and thus would not look forward to going back to one, especially a boarding school and especially as a teen. She had been, and still was, extremely smart, but she was lazy and she just could never get herself to care about her school work. The things they did at school were absolutely boring compared to the things going on at the time with the Insurgents and her father, so she often found herself skipping school. She truthfully only showed up on some days for Niko and Niko only.

She noted Rouge's warning to not get into trouble, but if someone started giving Niko shit for who his dad was, trouble was probably going to find her. But, she knew they had a mission to carry out, so she decided she'd cross that bridge when they got there.

She listened to the details Rouge gave, setting up their background as a married teenage couple, which could absolutely be described as unorthodox, but what other people thought about it would not bother or affect her. Speaking of being a teenager, she shot Saph a glare at her joy of seeing Sapphire as a 16-year-old. She honestly couldn't remember what she looked like. She vaguely remembered looking cute compared to the hardened appearance she had now, but that was all she could recall.

Sapphire made a mental note to tell Garnet about the plan, seeing as she was supposed to also be his eyes and ears. She'd have to wire herself before heading into the school.

She looked to Niko as he voiced his lack of interest for returning to school. "I don't think we have much of a choice," she told him with a quiet laugh, eyes softening. "But for what it's worth, I'm not looking forward to going back."

Rouge nodded to Vanilla who just got off the phone with Garnet. She aimed the Youth and Rejuvenation Ray at Niko and Sapphire. Niko didn't really feel anything happen, really, just a flash of light that looked like a giant dust cloud of the blush and cover up Rouge used. Rouge was in her 30s, after all. Niko regained his vision and looked to Sapphire who was back to her sixteen year old self, with one small, no, big problem; her current clothes falling off.

"Sapphire?" Niko asked. "Your clothes are too big and they're falling off. I know how much you hate that so I figured I would rip that Band-Aid off now."

"I'll be acting as your mother for this mission." Rouge said smiling weakly. "I'll simply just pop in the Academy now and again to check on you both. Vanilla talked to Garnet about this and he wasn't happy about it, but he gave in after a bit. Just be careful, you two. Garnet will have my ass and hang my skull on a pike if you two don't make it out of this."

Sapphire didn't know how she didn't realize it at first maybe a numbing sensation as an after effect of the Ray? she thought. But as she looked down at herself, she indeed noticed her clothing falling off of her. Her blue eyes grew wide as her hands scrambled to grab her clothing before they hit the ground to pool around her, fumbling to position them over herself, her hands gripping the material tightly.

"Motherfucker," she muttered, her face flushing red. "You don't happen to have a new wardrobe for us, too, do you?"

Was her voice higher? She thought. She figured it might have been a little higher, but not much if it was at all.

She was both surprised and pleased that Garnet had been in communication with Vanilla, which to her showed more willingness to cooperate with people outside of the Insurgents. She wondered what made him realize what was going on, but then she recalled the high surveillance the Insurgents kept on their agents. She also wouldn't be surprised if he had bugged her at some point.

"Yeah, yours and mine both," she grumbled despite the irony of it. She had a job to do, for him and for the general well-being of Mobius. She squeezed tighter on the clothing she tried desperately to keep up and hiding her body. "Will we be having aliases, or are we just Sapphire and Niko?"

"You'll be retaining your names," Vanilla said, firing a cannon filled with clothes at Sapphire which slaps a smaller version of her current wardrobe onto Sapphire and pretty much disintegrates the larger one. "No one knows who you are at the school so you can keep your real names. However, I must inform you you'll share a dorm and all of your classes. Sapphire, you'll be on the cheerleading team and Niko will be on the football team the Pembrook Mad Dogs."

"Oh crap." Niko said waiting for Sapphire's angry response. She hated the cheerleaders and even almost killed one because of how they treated him. Now she has to be one and that's gonna be a problem.

"We're all aware of how much you hate cheerleading, Sapphire," Vanilla said nonchalantly. "But in order to keep an eye on each other and stay close, this is the best way we could come up with. Please try not to kill them."

Sapphire relaxed her hands, seeing now that she no longer had to hold anything up. Sharing a dorm and classes wouldn't be a problem; they were married, for Pete's sake. What would be a problem was the decision to make her a cheerleader.

She felt herself tense up as a deep scowl set itself onto her face. Niko knew how much she hated the group of preppy girls. She had tried to see through the stereotype in the past only to find that they really were as bad as the stereotype set them up to be. She didn't have a compatible personality with them whatsoever. Why couldn't they have put her in the marching band instead?

"Understood," she muttered, glaring at Vanilla and Rouge both before she turned her eyes to look at Niko. "Next time the world's in danger again or some shit, we're calling the shots," she grumbled.

"No promises on that much." Rouge said. "We're working with the Insurgents on this so it will be a pain in the ass for us. If this goes wrong, there's a slight chance that this will be the only cooperation the Insurgents will get us. Why that's happening, I'll be getting some much needed time to get other matters dealt with. So the portal to the school is right there."

Rouge pointed to the portal next to her. It was a swirling vortex of sorts and it didn't look all that inviting. However, Niko had been through those kinds of portals before. He nodded and looked to Saph and Sarabi who waved them off, Saph with teary eyes.

"We can't go with you." Saph said. "We have to stay here to protect Vanilla. You two have fun and good luck!"

"Take care of each other." Sarabi said. "Don't get yourselves killed. I still need you Sapphire. I'm literally you so you die, we do too."

"Don't you ladies worry!" Niko said wrapping his arm around Sapphire's neck gently as they walked through the portal. "I'll be sure to bring her back home safe and sound. It might be me in the worse condition after all this."

When they two reached their destination, Niko looked to sapphire and sighed heavily. He was older and wiser, to an extent. He appreciated all the stuff she had done for him, but he knew he would have to deal with things himself from now on. If he can take on Xehanort, what was stopping him for conquering high school again?

"I can recall all the wedgies I got then the sudden disappearance of those guys." Niko said smiling. He turned to sapphire and frowned a little "You do know you don't have those resources in this mission right honey? You can't whisk anybody away if they pick on me...plus I'm 16 on the outside but I'm 23 on the inside. I can handle myself. Also please don't maim or kill the cheerleaders. I don't think they deserve to die. Plus I don't think I'll be getting any flack from them because I'm a football player and as I do recall, dating a football player is like being a goddess in high school. Although...I gotta ask...which football was Vanilla talking of? Is it American football or soccer?"

Just then a blue and silver soccer ball flies towards Sapphire and Niko quickly spins behind her and kicks it back into the goal net 60 feet away. Everyone who had been near cheered as Niko looked around and sighed.

"Oh." Niko said exasperated. "That football. It's pronounced Futbol! Why was I so lead on with playing NFL-style football?! Son of a-"

Just before he could finish, a random guy comes in and tackles him. A whistle is heard and a familiar red echidna wearing a polo shirt, khakis and cleats runs up to Niko and helps him up.

"Come on, Collins!" The echidna said. "You were supposed to avoid that! How are you gonna play if you can't avoid a tackle?"

"Wait so I'm on the football team and not the soccer team?" Niko asked.

"Yes! I'm coach Mac!" The echidna replied, winking at Niko and Sapphire. "Welcome to Pembrook!"

Niko knew it was Knuckles but decided to say nothing and nodded. Niko looked to sapphire and walked to their dorm. "Shall we get going babe? We gotta see what our dorm looks like. See ya later, coach!"


	5. Back to School

As soon as they stepped through the portal, everything happened so fast, what with the soccer ball and Niko getting tackled and his words and suddenly Knuckles. It was almost too much to take in at once, but she was used to chaos, so she forced herself to process it all. Slowly, and not really knowing where she was going, she walked with Niko in the direction of their dorm.

"I hate every single thing about this," she grumbled, sounding almost childish, which was something she didn't mind if it was Niko who heard it. "I understand we need to get information, but this is going to fucking suck." What was she going to do if someone pissed her off? Just take their bullshit? That was unheard of to her. And what if some ditzy cheerleader started pining over her husband, whether it be because he's a football player or not? She audibly groaned as she thought of all of this, feeling a headache coming on.

Upon entering their dorm, Niko laughed a little. He knew Sapphire's complaints were true and he understood where she was coming from. However, he couldn't help but laugh at the manner which she was complaining.

"I understand babe," Niko said after struggling to stop laughing. "I truly truly do. But you gotta remember, we're here to find the people who are causing the situations out there in the real world. If we don't, the world is gonna fall. I have to admit your concerns are legitimate. Being a football player could gain me groupies and other cheerleaders could pine over me. But I promise you that I won't fall for them. My eyes are only for you. I promise."

Suddenly a female cat walks in. She had purple fur with hair tied up in a upward bun. She came in with suitcases with a flame sigil on them. Niko knew who she was right away and walked up to her and smiled.

"Blaze?" Niko said smiling. "You go here?"

"Yes." Blaze said surprised. "You don't remember? You blew up the school with that rage burst of yours. The school district paid the teachers and students and I came here. So how are you? How's Sapphire?"

"Sapphire's right there." Niko replied pointing to Sapphire. "We're married now."

"Wha? Really?" Blaze said in a mix of happiness and surprise.

Sapphire didn't have to be reminded that they were on a mission here. In the past she had been presented with many challenges that stood in the way of her getting her job done, and she had always overcome them, but there was something about school that was particularly unappealing. She'd take a field of bullets over this any day. She was bothered by Niko laughing at what would be her suffering, but she loved his laugh, so she couldn't be too mad.

Her eyes had been surveying the dorm when Blaze walked in, and she looked to her when she began talking.

"I'm pretty sure a marriage happened somewhere in between the other shit that just so happened to be happening at the time," she told Blaze with a tired smile that seemed like it could tell all of their story involving Xehanort.

"You guys have been through a lot of things." Blaze said. "You've been through great struggles to get to where you are now. You saved us all and yet no one will ever know what you did."

"I know." Niko said. "You don't have to remind me. Anyways, I'm glad you're our dorm mate."

"Same here." Blaze said happily. "But you two won't be...up all night will you?"

"Of course not!" Niko said smiling. "I assure you that you will be getting the amount of sleep you will need to be as successful as possible."

Niko and Blaze laughed at the thought of being up all night. Niko looked to sapphire and tilted his head. He could see a face of confusion.

"When you were cutting school," Niko said. "Blaze made sure no one gave me a hard time. Just being around me made people uneasy."

Sapphire was relieved to hear that someone had been looking out for Niko when she skipped. She was actually rather fond of Blaze, so she didn't find dorming with her to be a problem.

She did roll her eyes at the comment she made though.

As Niko and Blaze laughed, she thought of what she needed to do: call Garnet, get her stuff for cheer, and get hers and Niko's schedule.

"I'm going to go see if I can get my cheer uniform," she told Niko and Blaze, not being able to help but shiver at the words on her lips. "I shouldn't be gone long."

Niko and Blaze smile and wave.

"Niko and I will catch up while you're gone." Blaze said. "Don't you worry, I'm not going to try anything."

The thought of Blaze and Niko doing anything while she was gone hadn't been one that crossed her mind, but as soon as Blaze brought it up, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Niko would never, and she'd like to think Blaze respected her, but the thought of it alone made her feel sick.

"That'd be wise," she told Blaze, her voice cold. She turned away from them and headed out the door the, looking to find her uniform and maybe their schedules, too.

The halls weren't too busy, but as she moved throughout them, she found herself becoming more and more irritated with every new sound she heard. It was just the effect school had on her. After forcing herself to ask around a little bit, she was directed toward the main office, where someone fetched her uniform for her. They also provided her with hers and Niko's schedule, and once she had them, she headed back toward their dorm.

She tucked everything under her arm and felt around on her person for her phone, but she found that it wasn't there. She swore to herself, remembering it had been in her old clothing, which had practically gotten incinerated. She'd have to get her hands on a new one... And a new belt and teleportation device. Garnet wouldn't be happy about that.

Suddenly a portal opens up above Sapphire and her phone, driver, and teleportation device. It had a note which read; "You forgot these. Try not to lose them again."

Of all the things that Sapphire was expecting, her phone and everything else falling from above was not one of them. Thankfully, she was in a deserted hallway as it happened. Her phone hit her square on her head, causing a swear to leave her lips. She caught it and everything else before it fell to the ground due to her quick reflexes, managing to keep her uniform and schedule tucked under her arm as she did so. She missed the note, however, and read it where it lied on the ground. She scowled as she examined the words. She didn't necessarily lose the items, they just... Fell off of her person.

She was still wearing a pant suit, seeing as Vanilla had chosen to replace the one she had with one that now fit her, which probably looked out of place among the clothing of the other students, but she couldn't get herself to care. It was ideal for concealing her belt. She strapped it on and stuck her teleportation device onto it before covering it with her suit jacket. She readjusted the items under her arm before dialing Garnet's number into her phone, and he picked up almost instantly. He sounded smug.

"School, huh? That was never your strong suit."

"You don't have to remind me," Sapphire told him, her voice full of agitation. "I believe Vanilla and Rouge gave you the details of my situation?" She heard him grunt an angry "yes," his smugness fading.

"So you know I've been learning to use the driver, which fulfills your orders." They were both quiet for a moment. "... Listen, I'm really glad you reached out-"

Garnet cut her off. "I don't want to discuss it," he told her sharply, and she felt herself flinch slightly at his tone. She knew how much he despised Niko, though she truly believed he was coming to accept him. "What's important is that you figure what the hell is going on. I want every bit of intel you can get your hands on. I'll be expecting you to wire yourself and then give me detailed reports at the end of the day. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He was quiet before he sighed. "I've agreed to send tech and equipment as it's needed. Call it my cooperation."

"It'll be a big help, Garnet," Sapphire told him, her voice sincere. "I'll need you to send me a wire," she added. "Didn't really get the opportunity to pack."

"It'll be there before the day is over," he replied. "Now, go get settled in. And... Be safe, Saph."

"I always am," she replied before she hung up, putting her phone inside her pocket. She sighed deeply before running her hands over her face, the headache she felt starting earlier growing in strength. She made her way back to the dorm, her head filled with thoughts of what might be to come.

Niko began to retell the Xehanort incident to Blaze who listened intently. After he finished, Blaze looked at the sky and smiled.

"To think," Blaze said pondering. To think that there is other worlds beside this one. I wish I could've been there. It sounds like an adventure I would've enjoyed. A shame Sapphire was such a negative nancy."

"Oh you know how Sapphire is," Niko said nonchalantly. "She's grounded in reality. It's just how she rolls. I don't fault her for it."

"Neither do I." Blaze said smiling. "So? Have you guys...you know?"

"Have sex?" Niko asked. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Relax, Niko!" Blaze replied laughing. "It was just a joke. I know you don't want that until you and Sapphire can go a few days without the world being in peril. I'm sorry I asked."

Sapphire tapped her knuckles on the door twice to signify she'd be coming in before she stepped into the dorm. She wasn't sure what conversation Niko and Blaze had been having, and she didn't care, either. She grabbed one of the two schedules that were under her arm and handed it to Niko. Despite the fact they had the same classes, they each got their own schedules.

"Here you go," she told him before setting her own down on a desk in the room, placing her uniform next to it. She leaned against the chair in front of the desk. "All caught up with each other?"

"Yep!" Niko said smiling. "I was just telling her about the Xehanort incident."

"You two have had such an amazing adventure. You're lucky, really."

Niko took the schedule and smiles. He was glad to see that Sapphire getting used to their situation. He noticed the cheerleader outfit.

"Hey Sapphire?" Niko asked. "Can I ask you a question?"

Sapphire laughed, but it was dry. "I guess 'lucky' is one word for it," she replied with a weak smile to Blaze. When Niko spoke, her eyes found him, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Yeah, go ahead," she told him, nodding her head slightly. There were probably millions of things he could ask her about and she was unable to pinpoint what exactly it might be.

"I was wondering if you could try on your cheerleading outfit." Niko said slightly cringing. "I have two reasons for this. The first reason is to see how it looks on you. The second is to see if it fits. I had to give Rouge the dimensions based on memory alone and I'm terrible at that sometimes."

"Wait Sapphire's on the cheerleading team?" Blaze asked in pure shock. "I am too! Small world, isn't it?"

Sapphire couldn't help but roll her eyes at Niko's request, and she found that she wasn't surprised by it.

"Uh huh, two reasons. Sure," she told him, picking up the uniform. She didn't care to put it on though; she was going to have to get used to wearing it. Before she could look and see if their dorm had its own bathroom, she heard Blaze mention she was on the cheer squad, too. She felt relieved.

"I'm just glad there will be someone on the team that I'm not going to want to punch," she told her, laughing a little as she did. As soon as she finished speaking, she found a door on the other side of the room, and she felt another wave of relief wash over her with the confirmation that they had their own bathroom.

"Be right back," she told the two, heading into the bathroom, uniform in hand. She supposed that she could have just changed in front of them, but she wasn't the most confident in her 16-year-old body to do so.

"So Niko?" Blaze said. "What brought you to Pembrook? Our football team isn't exactly that good and we're only really excellent in academics."

"Well," Niko replied nervously. "I figured I would come here because no other school would take me. Sapphire and I have been inseparable since we got married so we came together."

"I guess I understand." Blaze responded after a while. Niko was acting like he was hiding something, but she it was best she didn't pry. "I'm glad you guys came. Other than Cream, I was alone."

As Sapphire unfolded the uniform, she couldn't help but notice how little clothing there actually was. She groaned as she took off her suit, pulling the mini skirt on first before throwing the top on. She looked at herself in the mirror, one hand at the bottom of her shirt and the other at the bottom of her skirt, pulling on both gently as if they would magically become longer.

The shirt was a crop top that showed off a good amount of her stomach, and the skirt went less than halfway to the knee. It was rather figure flattering though, and she supposed it looked cute on her.

She hated it.

Cursing to herself, she opened the bathroom door and stepped out, hand still on the bottom of her shirt, trying in vain to pull it down.

"Here it is," she muttered, eyes focused on the shirt as she continued to tug on it.

"Oh my gosh!" Niko and Blaze said in unison. "You look so cute!"

"You look good Sapphire!" Niko said smiling. "I know that you hated the cheerleaders but here's a silver lining. You can prove to them you're better and finally one-up them! Plus, they won't bother you like the ones back home had."

"Mainly because you're cheer captain." Blaze said smiling weakly. "The last cheer captain went nuts after we lost homecoming to the Beaverton Prep Badgers, our cross-town rival. It was a close game but she still went nuts and even bashed the co-captain's head in with her own pompoms. It was brutal. So they made me co-captain and you the captain. Even though you're new here. Don't worry, though, I'll fill you in on the routines and other things."

Niko listened to Blaze's story and wondered where he had saw that before. He suddenly remembered Sapphire went berserk once like that before...when she saw him almost die. Normally, this would've worried him, but he had confidence in Sapphire not to lose it.

"To be safe," Blaze continued. "I'll be nearby at all times. I'll make sure that you don't lose it like she did. Hey Niko? Shouldn't you be getting to practice now?"

Niko snapped out of his musings and nodded. He kissed Sapphire quickly on the lips and grabbed his jersey, which was red and had silver numbers with black outlines on it, and ran out the room. When he left, Blaze looked to Sapphire and smiled.

"He tried out for the football team one day." Blaze said. "He didn't make the team because he was so weak to the coach. He was devastated and one day the guys who did make it decided to pick on him. I saw and...well I am the cause of the school being burned down not him. They knocked him out and I went into my Burning Blaze form and caused a fire. No one wanted to believe a Freedom Fighter did it, so they took it out on him. I was so ashamed of what I did, that I was too ashamed to tell him. Not that anyone would believe me. I didn't mean for him to be a scapegoat. I'm sorry. "

Cheer captain? That would be a pretty big responsibility for someone who had never been a cheerleader before. But Sapphire was flexible, both literally and figuratively, and with Blaze's help, she was sure she'd be able to catch on fine. And she certainly wouldn't lose her cool; it was just cheerleading, after all.

"Good luck!" she called after Niko as he hurried out of the room, though her attention was quickly caught by Blaze. She listened to her story and couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, despite the blame that got put on her husband. She knew what it was like to lose her cool, to go totally berserk and kind of go crazy. She knew how messy it could get.

"There's no need to apologize," Sapphire told her while shaking her head. "Sometimes it's hard to keep it together, especially when someone you care about is hurt. I get that. Hell, I'm just glad you were there to do something about it while I skipped." She was quiet for a moment, but only a moment. "You should tell Niko. He would absolutely understand. He probably would've taken the blame for you anyways if he had known it was you."


	6. Fighting the Mafia

Meanwhile, Niko had been outside and heard everything. He knew that Blaze had went into Burning mode but not that she was the cause of the fire. Most people would feel hurt knowing someone made them the scapegoat, angry even. But Niko was used to it; Blaze did what she had to do to keep her reputation up. He wasn't mad, not even a little. He went to practice, not knowing someone was following him.

"You're right," Blaze said. "But he already knows. I sensed him behind the door. I didn't sense anger either. He was accepting of it really. Anyways, to change topic. You should know something about this school. Rumors have been going on about a man in a silver hood following people around. A few days later that person just disappears. I know it sounds stupid...but it's something we talk about now and again. To change topics again, I should let you know about Tails. He's your science teacher. I do recall the last time you met he was trying to lock Niko up in his room. I know you work for the insurgents. I think everyone here knows it. Well, Wave the gym teacher and girls volleyball coach, Vanilla, the art teacher, Sonic, the boys track and field coach, and Sally, our history teacher. They said she showed up out of a portal unconscious. Sonic found her and she said something about Niko being unable to stop her from getting hurt and she hated him."  
Suddenly the phone rings. Blaze picks it up and her eyes widen.

"Mother?" Blaze said. "Why are you calling? Last I checked you were never going to...uh huh...whatever...what do you mean Niko is a...oh my god...why are you now telling me that? Well fuck you! I will talk how I wish mom! I am 18 dammit! ...sorry...I just wish you told me sooner. I'm sorry. Okay thanks...bye."

She hung up and looked to Sapphire with a look of pure concern.

"Is Niko in possession of an odd-looking belt buckle with a deck of cards?" Blaze Asked. "He's a Kamen Rider isn't he? You do know what's happened while you were gone don't you? Some people in multicolored spandex went around doing vigilante justice on random criminals and the mafia went nuts. They proceeded to kill the mayor and take over. The town is in disarray and chaos. If Niko uses that belt he runs the risk of getting himself and anyone else he knows killed! You have to make sure he doesn't use it! You have to...wait a sec! You're a Rider too!"

Blaze points to the Destiny Driver next to Sapphire's normal clothes. She knew Niko was hiding something and didn't know what until now.  
"I want the truth Sapphire." Blaze said sounding rather upset. "What's going on? Why are you and Niko truly here? You and I both know Niko isn't gonna tell me so please spill!"

Intently, Sapphire listened to everything Blaze had to say. Everything from people being after Niko to the Kamen Rider stuff. She had to get to Niko if he was in danger. The purple cat was beyond upset, she could tell, but this was an important and dangerous matter that she could not just go around giving the details out for. She shook her head, grabbing her driver and her belt and strapping them around her waist, not bothering to change. She did, however, tie her suit jacket around her waist to conceal the items.

"I'm sorry, Blaze," she told her as she grabbed her phone out of the pocket of the pants she had been wearing previously. "We're Riders, but I can't tell you more than that right now, especially if Niko's in trouble." She opened the door and found a small box waiting for her, and upon seeing it, she swore. The wire. She picked up the box and brought it into the dorm, scrambling to open it before she hooked herself up, something she'd done plenty of times before. It didn't take long to activate it and conceal it under her uniform.

"As far as you're concerned, we're just here for school," she told Blaze with a pointed look before she hurried out the door, heading toward the football field. She had to go warn Niko of everything she had told her.

Meanwhile Niko was busy running a few drills. Practice had ended by the time Sapphire had gotten there and Niko needed to be ready for any and everything. As he finished throwing the ball, Sapphire had arrived and he looked to her. He could tell a hello kiss was not gonna happen.

"Is something wrong Sapphire?" Niko asked. "You seem a little upset. Wait...did Garnet give you a wire and Blaze found out about the drivers? I am completely guessing but I figured that Garnet would want to have info. How much is dependent on what you find out. However, giving that info up can risk being found out. As for the rider thing, well Blaze is smart and I knew she'd figure it out eventually. I just thought it would take her longer. Anyways, yeah...in other news, the Mafia. Turns out Sally is alive and she has been working for the Angular Mafia. They've been in control of the city after the Power Rangers came in and swept up some criminals in a massive drug bust. Turns out they took the Mafia don in as well and the Angulars took over the city as retaliation. Killed the mayor and everything. I was gonna go and check the town out to see how it's looking but I wanted you to come with."

That won't be happening I'm afraid." Came an all too familiar voice. "Hello Niko and Sapphire. You two look well. They're over here guys."

"Sapphire don't bother with using yours right now." Niko said motioning for Sapphire to stay where she is. "Save it for when it really goes down. I'll handle these guys myself."

Suddenly the two found themselves surrounded by thugs with Tommy guns. Niko looked to Sapphire and his hands quickly moved to his Fate Driver and he quickly slapped it on. Drawing a card he looked at it for a brief second and scanned it. The only thing said in the silence was one simple word.

"Henshin!" Niko said slamming his hand on the belt buckle.

"Kaigan! Faiz!" The belt echoed as it began to glow and surround Niko and silver and black armor with red glowing highlights. "Change your fate! Kamen Rider! Faiz!

"Nice costume change!" Sally said laughing. "It won't save you though. Get Blaze for me. She'll be decent use for collateral."

Niko grabbed the two who went to get Blaze and kneed them both in the spine causing them to fall backwards awkwardly. He scanned another card and it had a weird tribal sigil on it. Scanning it changed Niko's form to Kamen Rider Ghost's Musashi mode. Niko not stood in front of Sapphire in a red and black armor set with a red and hoodie and a helmet with a horn protruding from it.

Drawing two swords he motioned for the thugs to come towards him, which they obliged. It was obvious that it was an unfair fight for them as they were swiftly dealt with. The only person left was Sally who had Blaze in her grasp.

"No! Blaze!" Niko shouted. "Let her go Sally!"

"How about you come out of that stupid armor and surrender!" Sally shouted in response.

"Time to pull some quick-shots! Billy the Kid!" Niko shouted as his armor changed into a brown and black one. He aimed one of the pistols at Sally who moved Blaze in front of her.

"Don't even try it!" Sally said. "You hit me! She goes down too! And you don't want to kill your best friend do you? Maybe you do! She did lie to you! Made you the scapegoat for her mistakes!"

Niko knew this was bad. He had to save Blaze but Sally was using her as a shield. Suddenly a voice began to come to him. It was female and it sounded pure and kind. Allison? He thought. No it couldn't be her. However the voice sounded familiar only to him. Alicia? He thought. That had to be her. Was she alive? All he knew was that she was helping him in this form. Letting himself relax he and Alicia began to recite something. A creed of some sort.

"I do not aim with my hand;" Niko began. "He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye."

"Niko? What are you doing?" Blaze asked in a panic.

"I do not shoot with my hand;" Niko continued, his heartbeat slowing down. "He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind."

"You're totally gonna kill her aren't you?" Sally said triumphantly. Do it! Kill Blaze and take revenge for what she put you through! DO IT!"

"I do not kill with my gun;" Niko said taking aim and closing his eyes looking down. "He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart."

Niko fired off the bullet and it hit the wall next to Sally, bounces off the goal post, off the bleachers, and into Sally's spine, causing her to let go of Blaze and fall to the ground. Blaze ran to Sapphire and hugged her crying.

"Why did you do that?" Niko said calmly. "Why did you want revenge when I could do nothing but watch as Xehanort hurt you? I'm sorry I couldn't reach you in time. I truly am...but now I give you mercy. The mercy that you gave me when I was put on trial for the death of Alicia Acorn, your mother."

He fired off one bullet and it missed entirely. The police showed up and arrested Sally. Niko explained to the chief what happened and they wrote it down and shook Niko's hand, leaving. Niko reverted back to normal and sighed heavily.

"The Angular family don't have their most precious resource anymore," Niko said. "They'll crumble and eventually surrender to the police. But that leaves the question that should've been answered years ago. If they couldn't find Alicia's body...where is she?"

All Sapphire could do with stand back and watch as everything went down. She wanted to help, but she still needed guidance when it came to using the driver, seeing as she did not so easily take to it. She could tell Niko was going to have everything under control, though, with how easily he was able to use his newfound abilities. She made sure to stay close to the action though so the mic on the wire picked up all of the different sounds. Garnet was going to have a field day with this little scene.

Sapphire could not say she really cared for all of the action that was happening. It had been a barrier in their way of their true mission, and she was just thankful it was now eradicated. She looked to Niko as he now rambled on, and she walked up to his side. She didn't know Alicia, and right now, she didn't care to.

"Niko... Our focus isn't on Alicia right now," she told him gently, though her eyes were hard. "We need to focus on finding out where the Fangire are coming from. This can wait."

"Yeah I know," Niko said. "But still, it has me curious. Oh well."

"Hey guys?" Blaze said rather scared seeing a man walk up to them. It was the Mafia Don. Tony Angular. He pulled out a revolver and attempted to shoot Sapphire but Niko quickly grabbed the gun hand, pushed it upwards towards Tony's mouth and pulled the trigger killing him. Niko was still not thinking too clearly and he dropped the gun. Niko looked to sapphire and quickly regained his sense of self.

"What the fu-" Niko said as he looked down to see the dead Mafia Don. "HOLY SHIT! DID I DO THAT?!"

Before an answer could be given people walked up and cheered at the fact the man who gave them so much grief was finally dead and they were free. Niko waved and looked around curiously. Suddenly his eyes moved to a bullet wound in his side. One of the thugs from before must have gotten a pot shot in when he wasn't aware of it. Niko's vision began to blur as his blood turned bluish white and he fell to the ground.

"NIKO!" Blaze shouted as she checked him out. "He's been shot with a Permafrost bullet. It's the only kind of bullet that can actually kill me and others like me. It's the only bullets that kill Psis of Niko's level, Delta level and above. We have to get him to the hospital before the bullet freezes his blood!"


	7. It's Over

As soon as Niko fell to the ground, Sapphire's eyes grew wide. She was frozen for a moment, still in the fact that Niko had been shot. Despair took over her mind momentarily, and her heart ached. She had to get him help. She had to get him to a hospital like Blaze said. They had to take care of him.

When she finally came to her senses, however, she felt her blood start to boil. That sadness, that desperateness she had felt morphed into white, hot anger. In the pure rage, she felt a popping sensation in her legs, and she gritted her teeth to fight against it, to force it down, trying to get reason to resurface. She took a few breaths, though they weren't as deep as she needed them to be, but she did not have the time to properly calm down. She quickly called 911, informing the operator of what had transpired and where their location was. As soon as she was off the phone, she hurried to Niko's side.

"Godammit, Niko," she muttered as her anger slowly began to morph back into the despair she had felt earlier. She had to do what she could to help before professionals got there. Her hands glowed green as she went to place them near Niko's wound, slowing down this freezing over process. "You've got to stop dying on me, hun." With her last words, her voice softened and her eyes grew dark, and she felt the pain in her chest return, her mind cycling through the worst scenarios as she tried to focus her energy on keeping her husband alive.

When the Paramedics arrived the noticed Sapphire trying to heal Niko and helped her out by removing the bullet. It had gone a little into the area and they just squeezed Niko's side and the bullet popped out. They looked to Sapphire and sighed. They saw the desperation in her eyes.

"Miss?" The said politely. "We removed the bullet. However, we need to take him to the hospital so doctors can look over him and make sure that we didn't miss anything. You can come with us."

"Sapphire is Niko's husband." Blaze said. "She'll go with you."

Niko woke up six hours later in the town hospital and looked at his wound. It was closed up by a liquid bandage. Thank goodness for modern medicine he thought as he saw a hooded woman walk in the room.

"Are you alone?" The hooded one asked. Niko nodded. "Good. You heard my voice then?"

"Alicia Acorn?" Niko asked. "I went on trial for your death and you're still alive?"

"I had to disappear," Alicia said sadly. "Sally wasn't acting in the interest of the kingdom. She was approached by Xehanort. who told her he could give her ultimate power if she let him run his Keyblade through her. He also promised to leave the Acorn Kingdom alone...he didn't as you probably guessed and he took Sally away. After you defeated Xehanort, she reappeared at the school and she began to rant and rave how you stopped her from getting ultimate power. She I had to ensure someone could stop her. To ensure you could stop her. You did what I hoped you would, but I fear there's more to this than even I can understand. Here, take this card. It's one of the missing cards for your Fates Driver. It requires two of the same. A bond beyond life itself. Please be careful young one."

Before Niko could ask any questions, he felt a wave of fatigue and he fell asleep just as Sapphire came in with Blaze. Blaze looked at Niko's sleeping form and sighed.

"I knew what Sally was up to," Blaze said. "I tried to warn King Max, but he could see no wrong in Sally. When it happened on your wedding day, he told me to get as far away as I could, but she found me and threatened to kill me if I told anyone what I knew. I left Marine behind...I turned away from Silver...and now Silver hates me and Marine won't even talk to me. The only one who would is Cream. She knew too, but she wasn't threatened because Vanilla knew...everyone except Silver and Marine knew. If I told you both I feared I would be killed. I could've stopped all this! But again I'm stopped by my cowardice! Do you hate me now? I could've saved Niko multiple times, but instead I turn and run away a coward! Why doesn't he hate me?! I've caused him grief, torment and suffering and yet he still wants to be friends! Why?!"

Blaze sobs into Niko's chest. Her body ached over the sheer fact that she caused this. Suddenly sapphire's phone rings. On the other end was Rouge.

"Sapphire!" Rouge called out. "What the hell happened?! Niko's hospitalization is all over the news! Please tell me there was a good reason for-wait is that Blaze crying her eyeballs out? Is she with you? She knows doesn't she?! And most importantly, WHY THE HELL IS GARNET GETTING INFO?! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO LET US HANDLE THAT AND YET HE WANTS YOU TO INFORM HIM BEHIND MINE, VANILLA'S, ALICIA'S, AND YOUR HUSBAND'S BACK?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ASSHAT'S PROBLEM?!"

A few brief moments go by and Rouge calms down. She had never gotten that upset before. After a bit of heavy breathing, Rouge calmly continues.

"Sapphire," Rouge continued. "You and Niko have not yet found out what's going on. I can tell because Niko's only near death count is at one. If I'm not mistaken, Niko nearly died on us twice before Xehanort was dealt with. I know you work with the Insurgents so whatever Intel you give them, give to me and Vanilla as well. I assume Blaze only knows you're Riders. Let that be all. Don't tell her a thing. Got it?"As Rouge yelled at her, Sapphire rolled her eyes and held her phone away from her ear so the loud sound wouldn't' assault her so much. Of course she was telling Garnet everything. Her loyalties were to him and the Insurgents before they were to Rouge and the others, with Niko being the exception. Hers and Garnet's relationship was certainly... Complicated, but he was still her best friend.

Once she heard Rouge breathing, she brought the phone back to her ear to listen to what she had to say, now that she was calm.

"Got it," she replied, though it was half-hearted. She didn't have to be told to keep Blaze in the dark or to keep everyone updates. She had this under control. With that, she hung up, dropping her phone into the pocket of her jeans, that of which she changed into earlier as well as a dark red shirt.  
Sapphire walked up to Blaze's side and rested a hand on her back as she sobbed. It was a pitiful sight. She supposed years ago she would've been furious at Blaze for withholding all of that information from her and Niko, but now, she was able to understand her reasoning.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," she told her softly. "You had your reasons for doing what you did, and Niko understands that, too. He's just the forgiving type." She looked down at her husband as he lied on the hospital bed, asleep, and her heart ached once more.

The doctor walked in and motioned for Blaze and Sapphire to sit down. He pushed his glasses further on his nose and looked at Niko's medical records. The silence was so awkward that a random fart would break it. Anything to break the silence, please? Blaze thought.

"I have some good news!" The doctor said finally breaking the silence. "Niko is going to be fine. We sewed up the wound and used liquid bandage to patch him up. He'll be good to go home the minute he wakes up. However I have some bad news."

The doctor pulled out Niko's Driver. It had a single bullet hole in the side. Blaze's eyes widened when she saw the hole.

"The bullet went through his belt." The doctor said. "Luckily it slowed the bullet down for him. I must warn you, whatever this thing does; Niko must never use it until it's repaired. If he does, it could short-circuit or explode on him. Explosions don't usually leave survivors as you're aware."

"What if we got it repaired?" Blaze asked. "We can get it fixed right, Sapphire? There has to be someone who can fix it!"

Niko woke up and had heard everything the doctor said and shook his head. "I'm afraid not...at least not likely."

Blaze looked down sadly and shook her head. She was responsible for more of Niko's misery. Niko noticed and took her hand gently. He could feel her sadness and while he was always forgiving, he knew this wasn't time for being sad and broken.

"Look at me," Niko said as Blaze looked to him on the verge of tears. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind this fate. I hate that you're so sad. Buck up. It's gonna be fine."

Blaze looked to him and smiled nodding and wiping her eyes. Niko looked to Sapphire and sighed. He needed to tell Sapphire something super important.

"Can everyone leave me and Sapphire here for a bit?" Niko asked. "I want to get dressed and I need to tell her something...I'd rather you all not know what that something is."

Everyone nodded and left. Niko stood up and took off the hospital gown, unaware he was not wearing anything underneath. As he slowly put his clothes on, he began to tell Sapphire that Alicia was still alive and how she had to disappear, why Sally was acting nuts and she gave him a card. He didn't need any more so he gave it to Sapphire. He finished putting his clothes on and sighed as he looked to Sapphire.

"So that's what happened while you weren't here." Niko said. "I wish sometimes that it wasn't like this, but what can you do? Maybe it was fate that I only went this long with it. I guess I'll try to repair it myself. I fixed your bike that one time remember? Also, I helped Tails create a cold fusion reactor for the house. Maybe I'm fated for another purpose...in the meantime I'll go and do some stuff. Focus on my football while I see what I can do to fix the Fates Driver. Plus, I rather enjoy seeing you kick all the ass while I watch in pure awe as you bend backs in ways they aren't supposed to."

Niko laughed at this. It was amazing just how positive Niko was about all this. Deep down Niko was devastated that he could no longer be a Kamen Rider, but maybe this was a wakeup call for him to do something else for the sake of the mission.


	8. Losing It All

Despite how worried Sapphire had been with Niko's state and the destruction of his driver, he still managed to make her smile. She even laughed a little, albeit sadly. She knew how excited he had been to be a Kamen Rider, but deep down, she was happy he couldn't be right now. After almost losing him for what seemed like the umpteenth time, she would prefer that he just leave the mission behind and go home to never face danger again, but she knew it would probably never be that easy or likely. She took the card and tucked it into the deck that sat on her driver, which rested plainly on her waist. No use in concealing it now.

She felt her smile fall. "Niko... I don't know if I can do this anymore. Almost losing you, I mean. It hurts every single time and I never know for certain if you're going to come back to me or not." She gently took his hand in hers, interlacing their fingers. "I hate this damn dance with death you always find yourself doing. I just... Will it ever stop? Will you ever be able to just... Rest? Tuck all of the hero shit away?" Her voice was full of pain, and her blue eyes were clouded with despair.

"I hate it too." Niko said, his smile falling as well. "I hate almost dying too. I want to just pack it up and run away. Let others handle it! Just say no to hero work for once! Deep down, I just wanna go home and let the world go as it will be it burn to the ground or stay alive! I hate that I am always in so much trouble! I just wanna end it! Just die and get it over with! You know what keeps that from happening? You! As long as you're here, I'm practically immortal! I can't die! And what's worse? I can't do shit without you! I feel like every time some asshole with a super power wants to take over the world, I'm dragged in! Your dad was military-minded, senile..."

Niko stopped, knowing that was a wound he was not gonna get away with opening. He sighed and looked down sitting on the bed.

"I wanna give up and just hang it up," Niko said exasperated. "But something just keeps dragging me in...and I continue to pull you in with me. I don't want you to have to deal with this shit anymore! I never wanted any of this to happen...none! But it did and I have to accept them! Like I'm just a dog waiting for his reward for rolling over like a good dog! I hate it! But no matter what happens, I'm always just going through the motions! Your friends hate me! They all want to put a bullet in me and you know it! The only reason they don't is because of, guess who? You! You won't let them and I'm secretly hoping they try to while you aren't looking! I see the looks they give each other when I come by to say hi! I notice the icy stares and it hurts!"

By this point, Niko had known Sapphire was wired and he was talking loud enough for Garnet to hear. Why not right? Just get his feeling out and let Garnet know how he felt.

"Garnet may be trying his hardest to get along with me, but boy does he suck at that! If he has a problem with me, why doesn't just saying to my fucking face and get it over with!"

Niko felt a lot better after that one but he still needed to close his thoughts out before he started rambling like he usually did.

"My point is, Sapphire," Niko said sighing. "I love you. I have always thought of sitting things out and letting pros like you handle things. However, like I said, as long as you're here, I can't die...I don't want to use that as an excuse to die often, but I have always come back from the brink of death when you are around. When this is all over, I promise you, I'll never go on another journey, take another, mission or anything like that ever again...I'll be a stay at home dad when we do have kids. I'll be the dad who stays home and does the chores and solves jigsaw puzzles and watches soap operas and daytime game shows. The one who has dinner waiting for when the family comes home. If that's what it takes to make you the happiest woman I've ever met I'll do it. Just please...don't you die."

Niko began to sob. He knew how bad Sapphire felt each time he almost died and now he wanted no more than to see everything get better. He knew now what he meant to Sapphire and how death felt to those who witness it.


	9. Gaining More

Sapphire winced at first at Niko's rant and the mentioning of her father, but she continued to listen intently to everything he had to say, from the stuff involving her friends, to how he really did want to quit, to how he felt like it'd be easier if he would just die. Every word, every raw emotion that came from him pained her, and she felt the sadness well up inside her. As he broke down into sobs, she sat down carefully next to him on the bed, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. She found that she did not know what to say, what she could say, and she did not think any words she spoke would make him feel better.

"I love you," she whispered, tightening her arms around him, being mindful about his injury but just wanting to be close to him. "When this is over, I'll fix things. We'll fix things. I just... I just don't want you getting hurt anymore. I need you, Niko. More than I think you know." She reached a hand up to Niko's cheek and ran her thumb across it, wiping away tears as she did so.

"I always thought you better at everything." Niko said. "You were smarter, stronger, and faster. You protected me more than I ever did you. You did everything and you were always strong. I always cried and then seeing you beat those guys up just for saying something wrong, it made me feel like I was weak. I wanted to be like you, to be strong and wise like you. But every day I try, I make an achievement, and you weren't ever there. Your dad always said you were sick and that I should never come in. I always did. I wanted to show you how much I grew. To make you proud. You were, and still are, like an older sister I could never surpass but I don't care. Now, you're like the older sis I never had that I married. All incest puns aside, I love you Sapphire...you're the only thing that keeps me from walking into the river Styx. The only reason I can't die...if you died...I would too. I'm always so near death because I figure it's my one chance to make up for the times you got yourselves in trouble for my sake. I owe you, so I figured I would repay you."

Blaze knocked on the door and slowly walked in with Rouge who was dragging Garnet in with her. She looked to Niko as if to say I tried not to let them in but they insisted. Niko sighed and rolled his eyes. Rouge walked up to the pair and sighed.

"When I noticed the Fates driver was offline, I looked into the cause," Rouge said. "It's shot. I found the guy who made them but he said it wasn't meant to take bullet shots. So he told me he couldn't repair it. He sent his regards and said you can have it to tinker with it. He didn't care what you did with it. However, I decided to pull Niko off this mission. He's open to attack now and I won't risk it."

Niko walked to the driver and studied it. He walked away, signed some papers and walked to a tool shop, grabbed some things, paid for them and walked back to their dorm, locking the door behind him. Blaze followed him and tried to unlock the door but it seems like he torched the door shut. Blaze came back to the hospital and looked at everyone.

"Niko has taken to locking himself in the dorm room and he seems to have sealed the door shut." Blaze said. "On top of that he has a blow torch, some screws, a test module for a cold fusion drive, two fuel rods, a bottle of Chuck Norris's musk, and Segata Sanshiro's sweat. He intends on fixing the Driver."

Rouge grabbed Blaze by the throat and slammed her into the wall.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM?! HE'LL KILL HIMSELF WITH ALL THOSE MATERIALS WITH THAT INTENTION!" Rouge shouted

Before Blaze could response an explosion came from the dorm. Blaze screamed as the sheer magnitude shook the windows breaking them. Rouge dropped Blaze and called for Niko. You fucking idiot! Rouge thought and the ground began to settle.

Sapphire? Better than Niko? Did he really think that? She always thought they were on par with each other, but if anything she thought he was better than her, always being the chosen on or the designated hero or something along those lines.

Garnet had been a little more than confused at being dragged into this mess, despite the fact he knew exactly what was going on via Sapphire's wire.  
Sapphire's eyes flashed over to Rouge as she attacked Blaze. "Let her go," she told the bat sternly. "There's no need to hurt her!"

As the explosion went off, both Garnet and Sapphire jumped, and the latter couldn't help but feel worry rise up inside her. She was prepared to go and check on Niko, locked door be damned, but Garnet, who was now oriented, snapped his eyes in her direction.

"I need a word with you," he told her coldly in a voice that chilled her to the bone.

"But-"

"Sapphire!" he snapped, anger flaring up in his eyes. She knew better than to talk back to the director, her boss. She bit her lip. "Yes, sir," she told him quietly, and without wasting another moment, he headed out the room and down the hall, and she followed.

"You've been doing good work, agent," Garnet started. Despite his words, his tone was irritated. "Though I heard a few things that I found... Concerning. Niko talked of settling down and starting a family. Are those your intentions as well?"

"Yes, sir," she told him, hoping that would make this conversation said and done, but his expression only grew more frustrated.

"Does this mean you'll be leaving the Insurgents?"

Sapphire was quiet. "Not permanently," she told him with assuredness in her voice. "I'll be taking long-term leave so Niko and I can just... Work on us." This did not make Garnet happy, as he then rubbed his hands over his face, a frustrated sigh leaving him.

"You're our best agent, Saph."

"I know," she responded with confidence. "And you'll have to do without me for a while."

"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"No, sir."

Garnet sighed again. "... Fine. Once this mission is over, I'll need you to come to base to do some paperwork. And your orders still stand for this mission... Stay safe, Sapphire." With those words, he moved around her to walk down the hall, and she did not look back at him as he did so.

Rouge rushed to the epicenter of the explosion and saw that the dorm was undamaged. She ran up to the door and kicked it in and saw Niko holding a wristband of some sort. He had completely re-purposed the old parts plus some new ones to make a new driver of sorts. Niko pushed a button on it and a voice echoed out as Niko began to glow red and gain red armor that closely resembled a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Rouge looked to him as Blaze and Sapphire run to the room.

"Whoa! Now this I know about!" Blaze said. "That's the armor for the red Kyoryuger. A brave warrior he was. Known by most by his call sign, the Biting Brave. Niko wanted to stay in this mission so bad that he remade the Fates Driver into the...the...uhh..."

"Gacha Bracer." Niko said as he reverted back to normal. "I want in on this mission and I'll be damned if I'm stopped because my driver is broken."

Rouge and Blaze had never seen Niko like this. However, Sapphire had. This was how Niko got when he was serious. Blaze was scared by this side of Niko and Rouge was a little impressed that he could even be serious. Niko needed to relax, so he went to the Football field to sit on the bleachers.

"Hey Sapphire?" Blaze asked. "Have you seen Niko like this before? What is he like in this state of mind? Is he nicer or angrier? Is he easy to set off? Can you talk him out of it?"

Sapphire watched as Niko took off, finding she was not fazed by the way he fixed the driver up in his own little way and became so serious. She looked to Blaze as she asked her many question, and she closed her eyes.

"He's... I dunno," she started, opening her eyes and sighing. "If anything, he's colder. I kind of just let him do his own thing, Blaze... I don't know about talking him out of it."

"I have to admit," Rouge said. "I'm a little afraid of him now. Perhaps you should go talk to him."

Sapphire frowned at the way Rouge and Blaze were reacting, but she went to go talk to Niko anyways. She guessed that he would be on the football field (because she couldn't think of anywhere else he would be), and sure enough, she found him there. She climbed the bleach until she got to the one he sat on, and she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"You doing okay?" she asked him, moving closer to him.

Niko sat there thinking. He knew she was there. He looked at her and sighs

"Yeah," Niko lied. "I'm good. I am just fan-fucking-tastic!"

Niko threw a fireball skyward and it brought a narrowly missed a bird. He sighed and looked down at his hands which were slowly turning to normal. Why did he bother trying to hide his powers still? He was capable of control.

"Why do I bother lying to you?" Niko asked. "Please tell me...why, of all people, do the ones who helped me the most, hate me the most? I get it, I was a show off when they first met them, but if they got to know me a bit, they'd...I dunno hate me less? I'm trying so hard to start doing things I'm on my own. It's almost as if it's never enough."

Sitting down next to him, Sapphire frowned. She hated that Niko had to feel this way, to experience this turmoil and to deal with these emotions. She almost felt as if the way he was feeling was her fault because she kept around these people who disliked him so deeply. That was, if she was thinking about the right people.

"Are you... Are you talking about the Insurgents?" she asked softly tilting her head to the side, gently taking his hands in her own so he would be unable to lash out with his powers once again.

"Yeah." Niko said nodding. "I feel like sometimes nothing I do makes anyone happy. The only person I please is you. And while I'm happy for that, I want to be the one that makes everyone happy. I guess Tails was right, I am just a pox...I'm never gonna make people happy. I'll only bring chaos and sadness to all I come across. But I have to know, why is my negativity so lost on you? What about me is so special that we got married? I love you...I really do, it's just I'm so confused."

Sapphire looked away for a moment. She felt awful. If she didn't continue to hang around the Insurgents, Niko would've have felt this way. But when no one else was there, they were. They were her family growing up, the ones that had her back, and she had theirs. They trained together and they went on missions together and she loved them all dearly. It wasn't easy to just let something that had always been a part of your life go, and she wasn't quite sure she would even think about doing so in any other scenario. And some of the Insurgents rather like Niko. Alex was fond of him, and Gold too. Silver was a bitch to everyone and the rest were indifferent towards him, save for Garnet who was a whole other story entirely.

She sighed softly before looking back over to her husband, her grip on his hands tightening slightly. "You are easily the least negative person I know," she told him firmly, despite the tired and faraway look in her eyes. "You don't bring chaos or despair or any of that nonsense, and you make plenty of people happy. You're close to Rouge, and Sonic, and countless others because you're just so damn nice." She smiled a little as she said this, though her face grew serious soon after. "Niko, I love you with all of my heart. You are everything I am not, that I can't be. You are so perfectly my other half, and you make me a better person. I went from a mindless pawn of my father to a liberator and a savior all because of the light and goodness you brought into my life... And that's why I married you."

Niko smiled and nodded. He knew deep down she was right. As she talked, Niko hardened demeanor began to soften. Niko kissed Sapphire's lips and placed his forehead on hers gently.

"You're right." Niko said. "I need to continue to be positive. I know it sucks right now, but it's gonna get better. It has to get better."

"We're going to make it better," Sapphire replied with a soft smile. "We just have to get through this, and then we can go home and take it easy for a while, and... And start a family." She brought one hand up to Niko's cheek, running her thumb along it gently, her smile only growing the more she looked at her husband.

Niko looked up at the sky and sighed as he saw the stars pass by. He was so glad to have someone like Sapphire by his side. So loving, caring, but hard as nails when the time came for it. Yep, there's no one like her. Niko was the luckiest guy in the world.


	10. Finding Info

The next morning, Niko had gotten up early to go to early morning pregame practice. He was finally going to be able to play his first game and it was nerve-wracking. Many of the cheerleaders passing by him in the halls offered to help him out, but he kindly declined. He walked into the locker room and got into his uniform. As he did the other players began chattering about something. Niko, knowing it was likely about what happened yesterday, he ignored it. However, one player walked over to him and shook his head.

"They're surprised you withstood a bullet." The teen said. "I'm Andrew. I'll be your go-to wide receiver and wingman!"

"Forget it, Clark!" Another teen said. "I'm Russo. Your center and your first line of defense against the defense. Use me well."

"So this is the star QB that we heard survived a gun fight with the Angulars?" A familiar voice called out. "Remember me squirt?"

"Hey, Scourge." Niko said in exasperation. "Last I checked Fiona is in jail for trying to kill me twice. So if you have a problem, can we save it till after the season is over where we both don't run the risk of getting benched?"

"Just leave him alone, Scourge." Andrew said. "It's bad enough your girlfriend tried to kill him, he doesn't need you trying to."  
After practice, Niko walked to his locker and waited for Sapphire. Andrew saw him and approached him.

"Sorry about Scourge." Andrew said. "Our best tight end and still an asshole. Anyways, my whole, wingman shtick is on the table if you need it."

"I'm happily married." Niko said. "I don't need a wingman. But I do need is an inside man. Someone who's been here before...someone who knows the scoop on all things Pembrook. Know anyone?"

"Well there's May, my girlfriend." Andrew replied. "She's not really privy to talking to anybody. She's so silent she can get dirt on anyone or anything. Name it and she likely knows."

"Any supernatural goings on?" Niko asked. "Like a silver-hooded man following student who suddenly vanish?"

"That's a tough one." Andrew said. "But I betcha she has something. Come on! I'll take ya to her."

Just then Sapphire walked up and Niko motioned her to follow him and Andrew.

Sapphire had just gotten out of cheer practice, which wasn't difficult considering the intense amounts of training she had done in the past. In fact, it was so unchallenging, that she was rather bored with it. As she walked up to Niko's she was confused to be following a stranger, but she did so anyway, her eyes narrowed.

"Whoa is this your wife?" Andrew asked.

"Yes Andrew," Niko replied. "This is my wife, Sapphire."

Andrew took Sapphire's hand and gently kissed it.

"Une belle femme de pure beaute" Andrew said putting the French lessons he was taking to use. "Ils disent qu'une femme est mieux connue pour l'homme qu'elle tient à prox imité. Êtes-vous fort, ma chère?"

"Are you trying to hit on Sapphire?" Niko asked.

"What? No!" Andrew replied. "I wouldn't dare! I am Andrew Clark, a jack of all trades but a failure of stealing women from their men."

"You better hope you aren't." Niko said playfully. What he said next he whispered in Andrew's ear rather menacingly. "Sinon, je vais te couper les boules et les donner aux dieux en hommage. Sommes-nous sur le même niveau de compréhension, mon ami? "

"Oui." Andrew replied. "So anyway here we are! This is where you'll find May. She's in the old library wing no one uses. I only come in here to avoid the wrestling club. Those leotards are just...ugh! Anyways, just whistle for her. Any tune will do! She knows a lot of them. See ya! I'll be back with some lunch May!"

Andrew left and Niko and Sapphire notice all the old books. He picks one up and sees a picture of his dad. He opens the book and suddenly the entire book's pictures flood his memory. After a brief second, he whistles the opening bars to Drop It Like It's Hot and a another voice chimes in. It was a black cat who looked rather young. Niko assumed this was May as she was so silent.

"May I presume?" Niko asked. She nodded. "Okay, so we were told by Andrew that you knew something about a hooded figure that kidnapped students. Do you have any leads?"

A nod and a flash drive was presented to Niko.

Growing up, her father had made sure she learned plenty of languages just in case she ever would need them for espionage or anything of that sort. She was only fluent in a few, however, but French was one of those few. She couldn't help but feel repulsed as this football player kissed her hand, and she resisted the strong urge to draw her hand sharply away. She listened to him ramble on some lame compliments in his French and Niko's rebuttal, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Mes heros," she muttered under her breath before they were lead to the library to find this 'May.'

Sapphire found herself drawn to the old books that resided in the library, picking some out of the shelves to look at while Niko did the same. She turned her head to look as the cat approached once Niko and she started to whistle. She found it rather suspicious that she knew so much about what was going on, but she decided not to question it as she slid the book back into the shelf.

"How well do you know of what's going on that's off?" Niko asked. May pointed to the flash drive as if to set all answers are on it. "Okay. Thanks. If there's any way to repay you. Let Andrew know."

May pointed to the windows. They were shuttered closed. Niko instinctively knew that she wanted him to open the windows. Niko hopped onto a bookshelf and opened the shutters. As light filled the room, May performed a sort of happy dance that reminded him of Snoopy. She hugged Niko close and giggled. A little confused, but happy to help, Niko returned the hug and smiled. As they left, Niko looked at a book and picked it up.

"The Fangire: A History by Takeru Masahiro." Niko said. "The Fangire are vampires that prey on people's desires and drain their life force. In turn, their desires are turned into Fangire, leaving the victim a soulless husk. Damn..."

Niko put the book back and looked at his watch. It was almost game time! Niko looked to Sapphire and pointed to his watch.

"It's almost game time! We gotta go!" Niko shouted and grabbed Sapphire's hand and ran off.

Instinctively, when the lights were turned on, Sapphire flinched, the brightness sudden and uncomfortable. She squinted as Niko hugged May and as he picked up the book, slowly edging herself in the direction of the door, perfectly aware of how close it was getting to game time. When Niko grabbed her hand and took off, she smiled and rolled her eyes, pulling her hand out of his to run along next to him.

She was already in uniform since she had come from practice only moments before, so she just hoped the other girls would think to grab her pom-poms for her. She didn't think she had the time to grab if they had not.

Niko stopped at the locker rooms and smiles. His first big game and he was nervous as all hell. He kissed Sapphire on the lips quickly and passionately and ran in the locker room. Upon getting inside, he saw everyone sitting there as if they'd seen a ghost.

"What's wrong, guys?" Niko asked.

"You didn't hear?" Andrew asked. "Coach Mac was found in his room crystallized. The homecoming curse finally got someone."  
"Fangire." Niko said. "Alright guys listen up. Coach Mac wanted us to go out there and play, not to cry like babies. There has to be someone who knows the game plan for the game."

"I do." A voice called out from behind everyone. Niko turned to see Alicia Acorn. "I'll coach you from here."

Everyone except Niko had a problem with that but decided not to be a sexist and nodded. Everyone decided to walk onto the field with Niko leading the charge. The beginning of the game was brutal, with Pembrook behind twenty-one to 7. Finally it was Nikos chance to prove himself. He looked at Sapphire tossed her the flash drive. He didn't want to break it when he gets sacked.

The other cheerleaders had brought Sapphire's pom-poms, thankfully, and she ran to join them on the sidelines, picking them up once she got to her front and center spot. She and the rest of the squad went through the motions with Sapphire leading them, although sometimes she forgot exactly what her job was and just started yelling insults at the other team. It took a few of her teammates to help get her back on track.  
When the flash drive was tossed to her, Sapphire caught it between her pom-poms. Her outfit didn't have pockets, so she set it down carefully next to her, being mindful when doing cheers not to step on it.

With Niko's help, the Pembrook Mad Dogs manage to win the game, 35-28. Niko sat in the locker room thinking about Knuckles. He was crystallized by a Fangire and he had to find it. He was going to need help, though. Niko walked to ladies locker room and waited for Sapphire. He thought about May and how she knew so much about all this...then the book. The book on the Fangire that he picked up in the abandoned library. Maybe it had the reason they are here? How long have they been around and what they want exactly? Niko pushed those thought out his mind as Andrew walked up to him with May and she tilted her head.

"Yes May," Niko said as if reading her thought. "I am thankful for the information. However, I'm confused...who would want to attack Coach Mac. He didn't have any desires or anything of that matter. I noticed you had a book on what happened to Coach Mac...it was crystallization. He was attacked by something. Question is...what was it?"

"Whatever it was dude," Andrew said angrily. "It's gotta be still out there. We have to hunt it down."

"There's no 'we' in this, Andrew." Niko said. "This thing is after something or someone. It could be any of us. We need to be careful and vigilant. Please don't go anywhere alone from now on. It's not safe to go anywhere alone."


	11. Hunting the Fangire

The cheerleaders stayed to direct all of the football viewers out of the stadium. And once they were done, Sapphire and the rest of the girls headed toward their locker room, where she saw Niko, May, and Andrew having what seemed to be a serious discussion. She furrowed her brows and let the other girls head on into the room.

"What's going on?" she asked, moving to stand by Niko's side, searching their faces for answers.

"Coach Mac was found crystallized this morning." Niko replied

"It was ugly," Andrew said. "He was just laying there. He was just a crystal husk. He didn't have anything that said he was living left in him."

"I was just telling Andrew and May to be vigilant." Niko said. "Babe we need to go look at Coach Mac's room. I want to see this crystallization myself."

Sapphire frowned at the news, and she couldn't help but feel a little angry at herself for not doing anything to stop it from happening. She was here to stop that kind of stuff, wasn't she? Nonetheless, she nodded wordlessly to Niko.

Niko walked to the faculty dorms and walked to Coach Mac's room. Inside was the Master Emerald. The one thing Knuckles was told never to leave Angel Island because of and he brought it with him. Niko rolled his eyes as he looked at it. It wasn't in the slightest damaged meaning the Fangire weren't here for it. Regardless, he put a teleporter on it and it went back to Angel Island. Niko sighed and continued looking. After a while he decided that this was getting him no where. He pushed a button on his Gacha Bracer.

"Emergency." Niko said. "Dekaranger!"

Niko was now wearing a red and black suit with the number one etched in black on one side and a helmet with lights in the sides. He looked like a police officer from another dimension or something. Niko began to use his helmet's detective mode to scan for clues. Niko soon found that the Fangire is still in the building.

"Sapphire," Niko said calmly. "The Fangire is in the building still. Do a sweep of the floor below and I'll sweep up here. We'll let each other know if we find anything of use to the investigation. That sound good? Also, you might wanna use Kamen Rider Ixa for this fight."

Sapphire had followed Niko to Coach Mac's room, and she found herself horrified by the sight of his crystallized husk. Her eyes darkened as she looked away, but she continued to listen to Niko's words. She could check out the bottom floor, but the only problem was she had left her driver in the dorm for the day, not even thinking to bring it to pregame cheer practice that morning, and she didn't have the opportunity to get it anytime after that.

"I'll have to run by the dorm," she told him, wondering how a professional like herself could've made such a mistake. "Other than that, sounds good." She began down the hall before looking over her shoulder and shouting to Niko, "Stay safe!" She then looked forward and upped her pace to a jog to hurry and grab her driver before something kicked off.

Niko nodded and walked into the halls and looks around. As soon as Sapphire left, Niko saw a being in a silver hood. Niko ran after it chased it up the stairs to the roof. Upon getting to the roof, Niko pulled out a pair of crimson Desert Eagles and aimed them at the hooded figure.

"Who are you?" He asked. "You have nowhere else to go so you might as well answer my questions!"

"I'm what is and shall be once more." THe hooded one answered.

"What are you talking about?" Niko replied.

"The Fangire are few now," The hooded figure replied. "But there shall be more in time. Lord Dravius will see to that!"

"Dravius?" Niko asked.

Before he could get a response the hooded one turned into a Fangire and rushed at Niko. Niko was pinned down but his gun hand was free, shooting the Fangire in the head multiple times. It staggered backwards, but it was quickly back on the offensive as he jumped at Niko.

"Auger Frost!" Came a voice. Niko looked up to see Vanilla extending her hand outwards towards the Fangire.

"Thanks!" Niko said changing his armor to one that resembled a ninja gi. Niko rushed at the Fangire. "Hurricane Finish! Razor Winds!"  
Niko slashed the Fangire multiple times each one being augmented by Cream's magic. THe Fangire screamed and turned into dust. Niko reverted back to normal and smiled. He was happy to see Vanilla could fight.

"I owe you one," Niko said to Vanilla who was walking away.

"Don't try to get yourself killed and we'll be even." Vanilla said.  
As soon as the fight had been finished up, Sapphire had made her way onto the roof, her driver around her waist, a hand placed protectively over the cards. She had a good reason for taking so long to get there, and she needed to tell Niko. Her eyes went from him to Vanilla, "Everyone okay? Did you get it taken care of?"  
Her voice was filled with a certain anxiousness, and her eyes were unable to stay on either one of them, and they continued to dart around.

Vanilla was silent as she left the rooftops. Niko looked to Sapphire and sighed as he looked down.

"You took too long." Niko said. "I have some information for us to decipher. a Lord Dravius, to be exact. We're done here. Let's head back to our dorm. We have to get ready for a funeral."  
Niko walked away and took Sapphire's hand. He was smiling and looked into her eyes. He was glad she was here so he could explain to her what the fuck he just witnessed.  
Niko's smile could not make Sapphire smile this time. She felt deeply unsettled by what she had learned only moments before whatever happened on the roof happening. She walked by Niko's side, her hand in his, but that did not erase the dread in her eyes.

"I got a call from the Insurgents," she stated quietly. "Before I tell you what they said, I need to know what just happened."

"The Fangire said something about Lord Dravius." Niko said. "He said Lord Dravius will create an army of Fangire to take over the world. But that's all I got from him. What about the Insurgents? What did they tell you?"  
Sapphire looked away from Niko, her eyes on the ground. "The Fangire... Are not always in plain view. After collecting surveillance from the school and keeping in touch to what they picked up from my wire, they've determined that they have the ability to take on a human form. The guy in the silver hood was just that: a Fangire in disguise." She met Niko's eyes after staying silent for a moment. "That's who the Fangire you fought was, wasn't it?" she asked before her eyes fell again.

"It's probably something you had already figured out - you've always had a knack for that - but the reality of it is chilling. They could be literally anyone."  
Niko looked to Sapphire and sighed. He had known that. The part he didn't know was that they could take the form of anyone. This worried him a little. However, Niko didn't care about that at the moment. He took her hand and sighed.

"I understand." Niko said. "We'll worry about it tomorrow. In the meantime, let's just go back to the dorms and get some sleep."  
This new information did not sit well with Sapphire. She knew what it was like to have a mole or a spy or anything like that amongst your ranks and how much damage that could cause, and that could very well be happening right under their noses. It put her on edge, and it made anxiety crawl up her spine.

"Right. Sleep," she murmured She doubted she'd be able to get any rest as she laid in bed, combing through the people at the school that she knew, trying to identify something she might've missed, trying to remember anything that would out them as a Fangire.


	12. Finding Dravius

Niko fell asleep that night rather quickly. He wasn't sure what tomorrow will hold, but he needed his rest to stay sharp. He smiled in his sleep as he dreamed of the day that he and Sapphire would start a family. It was the only reason he kept going. The sooner this was dealt with, the sooner that he could relax.

As she had expected, Sapphire did not get much sleep. She was up all night with names and images flashing through her head, and her eyes flashing open every time she heard even the slightest sound. It was at about 4 in the morning that she decided that sleep was hopeless, and she dragged herself out of bed and to the desk they had, slumping down into the chair.

The school had so generously provided her with a tablet, and she used it to write down her thoughts and details of the people she knew. She couldn't think of anyone who was so obviously a Fangire, and she didn't even know for sure if there was another one here. She racked her brain dozens of times, but she could find no clues.

She wanted to keep thinking about this and investigating the student body, but she found that she was sent a text by Alex, requesting she look over some Insurgent mission reports to give some feedback to up and coming agents. Alex was by no means in charge of her, but she felt obligated to do so, especially with how hopeless her search was going. It was at about 5:30 that Sapphire had fallen asleep accidentally, head face down on the desk, and the tablet still glowing bright next to her, the battery draining as the morning set in.

Niko woke up the next morning and saw Sapphire's sleeping form and smiled. He walked to the bathroom and took a shower and walked into the cafeteria to grab some food. He grabbed a tray of Scrambled eggs, toast and a bowl of fruit and walked back to the dorm and placed it next to her, grabbed his backpack and headed to class. He'd likely have to come up with an excuse for her absence, but he didn't care.  
When Sapphire woke up, she found herself highly disoriented, and it took her a moment to ground herself. She spotted the clock on the wall and once she saw the time, she groaned. It was already pretty late into first block, so she decided there was no use in going.  
She blinked as she noticed the food sitting on the desk, and she couldn't help but smile slightly. It was an ideal breakfast in her mind, and Niko knew.

Before she ate, she hooked up the now-dead tablet to charge. As soon as that was done, though, she dove in, finding herself to be particularly hungry.

The tablet sprung to life and opened the video chat app. Niko was adjusting the camera on his laptop so Sapphire could see the lecture. He placed the laptop so it's webcam was facing the front and texted Sapphire.

"If you have any questions, just text me so I can raise your hand on your behalf." Niko texted her. "If figured you might wanna stay home after last night so I worked it out with the professor and he agreed to let me bring you in via video chat."

Sapphire was at first confused by the video chat playing once the tablet powered up, but as soon as she got the text from Niko, she smiled. She picked up her phone, which had been resting on the desk, and texted him back, "You're the best."

Niko smiled and nodded. As the class ended, Niko walked down to the dorms and smiled as he opened the door.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Niko said jokingly.

Sapphire was typing a few notes into the tablet as Niko came in, and she looked to him and smiled tiredly at his jest. She was still rather sleepy, and it showed in the bags under her eyes and the weariness in her expression.

"I'm sorry," she told him, a little sheepish, "I didn't mean to oversleep. You should have woken me up."

"I didn't want to wake you." Niko said smiling. "You looked so peaceful."

"Probably because I kind of just passed out," Sapphire replied with a laugh. She stood up from the chair and took Niko's hand in her own.

"Did I miss anything important at the beginning of class?" she asked, gently swinging their hands back and forth.

"Not really." Niko replied. "The professor came in late."

"Perfect," Sapphire laughed. The light in her expression faded just a little, as if a shadow had crossed her face.

"You didn't happen to notice anyone,,, I don't know, being suspicious?"

"Nope." Niko replied. "Just the professor came in late. Which is funny, because he's never been late before according to faculty and staff members."

That was rather suspicious to Sapphire, but it was nothing really that placed her as being a Fangire. At least, that she knew of. She sighed and dropped Niko's hand.

"I wish there was something telling about those things, so that we could just know," she groaned, shaking her head.

"I wish the same." Niko said shaking his head as well. "These things are harder to track down that we thought. Maybe we could split our resources. Maybe you could ask the Insurgents to create a device that can differentiate a normal person from a Fangire. I have a DNA sample for them to start with."

Niko presented a vial of Fangire dust. It had sprinkled on him, so he decided to keep it as a sort of victory owing how hard it is to find another Fangire to fight, he figured he would give it to the Insurgents to make a device to track the Fangire. He wasn't happy about helping the Insurgents out, but they had a common enemy so this was an alliance he had to deal with.

"Tell Garnet he owes me." Niko said. "Also, I have no intentions of keeping any kind of grudges against him. So let's let bygones be bygones and maybe go to a bar or something together one day."

"I'll make sure it gets to them," Sapphire told Niko as she took the vial, viewing it with narrowed eyes. She looked from it to Niko as he talked about Garnet, her lips turning downward into a frown.

"He's a good guy. Really. He just..." She trailed off with a sigh, shaking her head. "I don't want to get into it right now. I'll call him soon and see about getting the vial to the Insurgents.  
Niko nodded and looked at his watch. He had to get to practice. Coach Alicia was going to have his ass if he didn't show up on time. Niko kissed Sapphire's cheek and walked out the door.

"I better get to practice." Niko said. "I'll see you at dinner."  
With this Niko closed the door. As he left, a hooded figure walked in the room. He took off his hood to reveal a gnarled face with several crystals inside.

"You must be Sapphire," the figure said in a hysterical voice. "I am Lord Dravius. I came to give you a warning. Do not attempt to make any moves against me or the Fangire. There will be consequences."  
He gave no time to respond, as he left as quick as he had come.  
It had happened so fast, she wasn't really sure that it had happened at all. Sapphire blinked as the disgusting figure and his words came and left, leaving a feeling of dread in her stomach and confusion in her mind.

Niko had mentioned a Lord Dravius, hadn't he? He led the Fangire. Remembering this, she opened the dorm door in hopes of pursuing him, but he was gone. His warning echoed in her mind and she slowly shut the door. She would be damned if they stopped their pursuit of taking down the Fangire. She'd have to tell Niko about the encounter, nonetheless.

Feeling as if she did it almost out of spite, she picked up her phone to call Garnet about the DNA sample. That night, Niko returned with some Chinese food. He looked to Sapphire and sighed. He could sense something was up. He sat down next to her.

"Hey babe?" Niko asked. "I sense something is on your mind. What's wrong?"

Sapphire sat with her legs folded up in the chair and her box of Chinese in her lap. She had been rather tense, the warning given to her still in her mind despite her desire to brush it off.

"I was actually planning on telling you over dinner," she told Niko with a concerned look on her face. "Right after you went to practice, a Lord Dravius stopped by and told me that if we try to stop the Fangire, there will be repercussions." She frowned, "I feel like that's a risk we're going to have to take though."

"It is." Niko said. He figured something was bothering his wife. Now that he knew what it was, he would have to be a bit more vigilant. "Well, I'm gonna need you to be at full strength tomorrow. May gave me a new lead. Apparently there's a club near the school that seems up be where the emo kids go. Place is called Club Reap...I think we should check it out. How did it go with the Insurgents? Can they do anything with the sample?"

"That seems a little stereotypical, but okay," she told Niko with a raised brow. She couldn't say she'd be surprised that it was the goths or emos, but it was still stereotypical.  
She nodded at his question. "Garnet was confident that they could make something to help. An agent came by earlier to pick the sample up."

"That's good." Niko said. "How long until we have something to use? Did he give an ETA?"

Sapphire shook her head. "This is foreign matter that they haven't dealt with before, so they don't know how long it will take. However, I know we have some highly skilled and dedicated Insurgents who will have something made in two days at the earliest, and a week at the latest. Garnet said they'll have a whole team working on it day in and day out."

"Well, that's good." Niko said sighing. "Let's just go over what we have on the Fangire this far...anything new?"

"Absolutely nothing," Sapphire replied almost instantly, rubbing her hands over her face. "Other than the threat I got today and all of the shape-shifting shit, there's nothing new to go off of." Saying the facts, the truth, out loud made her feel drained. These creatures that could suck the life out of someone could be doing anything nefarious at there was almost nothing to go off of in the ways of finding them.

"I've got nothing as well." Niko said.  
Sapphire sighed, sounding defeated. Never before had she felt so lost on a mission. "Maybe this thing the Insurgents are making will get done sooner than I expect. If not... I guess we just hope the Fangire don't pull something." She looked down at her Chinese food and realized that she wasn't hungry anymore.  
Niko looked around and ere was so much that they didn't know about the Fangire and he felt like they were running out of time. Niko looked out the window and shakes his head.

"I feel like we're running out of time." Niko said. "Dravius is probably watching us after what happened earlier. I don't know what to do and we're no closer to the truth than when we started."  
Sapphire nodded. "I feel the same. Time's our enemy right now. I guess we just keep an eye out for suspicious behavior and hope the Insurgents are quick. I'll let you know if I hear anything more from them."  
She got to hurt feet slowly. "Niko... What if we can't do it? What if the Fangire are just too strong?"

"They aren't too strong," Niko said sighing. "We just have to be ready when one shows up. We can beat them. It's just gonna take a little strategy and finesse."  
Niko put his hand on his wife's shoulder and kissed her cheek. When his lips made contact with her skin, it felt warm and calm, almost welcoming. Niko smiled and pointed to her Chinese food.

"You might wanna eat." Niko said. "We need to be at our best for whenever the Fangire attacks."


End file.
